Memory-sharing platform 1000memories today announced the launch of the Shoebox scanning app for iPhone, the first mobile tool designed for digitizing, organizing and sharing collections of photos from the past.
The app gives individuals, families and organizations the ability to scan and instantly share large collections of photos and documents that have previously been difficult to digitize – the photos traditionally neglected in shoeboxes, old family albums or archived analog collections.
We connected with founder Jonathan Good via Skype to talk about Shoebox. Unfortunately Jonathan’s video froze just after the recording began.
“Large photo collections from our past have never been digitized or shared because it’s been too difficult and time-consuming. With the introduction of the Shoebox app, we’re putting multiple hand-held scanners in households and organizations, for free,” says 1000memories co-founder Rudy Adler. “We’ve created a tool that allows people to upload and share old photos in a fraction of the time needed for traditional photo scanning, which will dramatically change the rate at which these collections are being shared.”
Using the latest technology, Shoebox can auto-detect the edges of a photo and then quickly crop and straighten accordingly. Users can then add information typically written on the back of old photos – such as dates, names, and locations – before uploading to the 1000memories.com, where it can be organized, shared and discovered by friends and family.
1000memories hopes to help users get their older collections of photos online and in order while their friends, families and communities still remember the stories and people behind them. “The captions, dates and tags are just as important as the photos themselves – it’s imperative that we get as many of these photo collections online as possible while we can still access the stories behind them,” says Adler.
The launch of Shoebox comes on the heels of the release of the iPhone 4S, and will take advantage of its significant upgrades in mobile camera technology, including an 8.0 MP sensor for high-resolution mobile scans, as well as an improved f2.4 lens, for quality lower-light scans. The app will remain compatible with all previous iPhone models, including the iPhone 4, 3G, and 3GS, as well as the iPad.
“The popularity of the iPhone camera has proven that people want something that’s quick, accessible, and easy to share,” says Adler. “For us, that’s what providing a social mobile scanner is about – making it as easy as possible for people to get their photo collections digitized and shared with the people they care about.”
Here’s the commercial prepared by the 1000memories team.
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