Kodak ships world's first computer-free wireless camera

There's now a computer-less way to dispatch family photos to grandma _ the world's first fully functional wireless camera.

After a summer-long hiccup, Eastman Kodak Co. this week began shipping a digital camera that, within range of hotels, coffee shops, airport lounges, offices, homes and other wireless hot spots, can send high-quality pictures directly onto the Internet and into e-mail boxes.

Unveiled in January, the Kodak EasyShare-One was supposed to hit the market in June but ran into engineering, marketing and other logistical glitches.

In the meantime, Japan's Nikon Corp. looked like it might steal Kodak's thunder by shipping its own Wi-Fi camera to stores last month. But while the Nikon P1 can wirelessly transfer pictures to a computer, the Kodak model remains unique in its potential to bypass the hassle of downloading.

"It's the next step forward in cameras. No more worrying about plugging in the cable," said photography analyst Ed Lee of InfoTrends, a research firm in Weymouth, Mass.

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