Consumers Have Trouble Finding Photos Across Devices and Online Services, Study Finds

BARCELONA, Spain --(Business Wire)--

More than six out of 10 consumers with photo collections on multiple devices or online services struggle to find, browse or sync their photos, a new study by the global multimedia software publisher Nero revealed.

The study found that 76 percent of consumers have 25 or more photos on multiple types of devices, such as smartphones, tablets and PCs. Fifty-two percent of consumers have uploaded photos to more than one online social network or cloud storage service, including Facebook, Google+/Picasa, Flickr, Instagram and Dropbox (News - Alert).

"Finding photos across multiple devices and online services is a huge challenge for consumers today and it's only going to get harder," said Nero Chief Product Officer Martin Stein.

In response to this growing problem, Nero today launched a free new iPhone and iPad app for its NeroKwik mobile photo sharing service.

"NeroKwik reimagines photo sharing by providing a smart, social and simple way to see and share all your photos, wherever they are," Stein said.

NeroKwik connects photos across iOS and Android devices, as well as popular social networks including Facebook (News - Alert) and Google+. It does this by maintaining a cloud-based catalog of high-resolution thumbnail images of the user's photos. The original, full-size images stay where they already are. This makes it possible for every photo - even ones that were just taken - to be instantly and automatically available on any device through NeroKwik.

Smart

NeroKwik is visual and touch-based. Photos are automatically arranged into Tapestries, which are like photo collages of differently sized photos. Tapestries help users quickly sift through potentially thousands of photos to find the ones they want without getting overwhelmed.

Users can rate their photos so their personalfavorites are displayed larger in a Tapestry. In a social view, users can see quickly which photos were the most popular with their friends on Facebook and Google (News - Alert)+.

Social

Tapestry photo collages can be shared with others in a variety of ways - they can be emailed, texted or posted to Facebook or Google+. Unlike static photo albums, Tapestries can continually evolve based on feedback and interaction from others. For example, when someone likes a photo in a shared Tapestry, the Tapestry is automatically reconfigured so the photo becomes larger.

Simple

NeroKwik automatically connects photos across users' mobile devices and online social networks. It takes a matter of seconds to add photos from a new device or link an online service to a NeroKwik account.

The NeroKwik iPhone app and iPad app are now available in the App Store. NeroKwik for Android (News - Alert) is also available now for free on Google Play and the Amazon App Store.

Executives from Nero demonstrated the cross-platform NeroKwik experience at the Mobile Focus Global event last night. They will also be conducting demos in the Intel (News - Alert) booth (SSG booth, Hall 8.1, Stand E20) today and Thursday.

NeroKwik images: http://blog.nerokwik.com/nerokwik-screenshots
NeroKwik videos: http://www.youtube.com/nerokwik

Survey Methodology

On behalf of Nero, Suite 48 Analytics, a mobile photography research firm, conducted an online survey of 1,004 adults in North America who have more than 25 photos stored on their computer, smartphone or tablet. The survey was conducted in January 2013. The margin of error was plus or minus three percent.

About Nero

Nero creates software that helps consumers around the world simply enjoy their videos, photos and music. Its NeroKwik service gives consumers a simple, smart and social way to share photos across mobile devices, cloud storage services and online social networks. Nero has offices in Glendale, Calif., USA; Karlsbad, Germany; Yokohama, Japan; and Hangzhou, China.

Nero and its product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nero AG. Other product and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners and do not imply affiliation with, sponsorship or endorsement by owners. © 2012 Nero. All rights reserved.