Kodak today annonced the 4MP EasyShare One, "the world's fist consumer Wi-Fi camera," to ship in October. Unfortunately for them, it looks like Nikon is going to beat them to it with the Coolpix P1 and P2, also announced today and available in September. Oops. At first glance, the Nikons look like better buys: The ES One is an unimpressive 4MP 3x optical zoom with a hefty $599.99 price tag, while the P1 is a respectable 8MP 4x optical zoom for about the same price ($549.95), and the P2 is a 5MP 4x zoom for $399.95

But the story doesn't end there. The Nikons are still tied to your computer. While the offer a nifty direct-to-computer feature—if you're around you computer you can send your pics right over the wireless connection instead of writing them to the card and uploading them later—you'll have to use Nikon software to access the camera. This gives you a little more freedom than a cable, but it doesn't really leverage wireless's real power. You'll probably end up wondering why you paid extra for the Wi-Fi when all you've gained is one less cable on your desk.

Kodak, on the other hand, gets the Wi-Fi right. They promise direct-to-internet uploads without a computer over any wireless connection, including your home or office network or a public hotspot. This is the way it should work. The point to wireless isn't losing a physical cable, it's not being tied down. If I'm going to spend money for a wireless connection, I want to be able to pop into the nerest public library or Starbucks and send my snapshots to my friends and free up some space on the card. If I have to go home to my computer anyway, I might as well plug in the cable. $599 for that freesom is tough to justify on 4MP model, though. If they can either upgrade the sensor to compete with the P1 or drop the price to around $300, though, the ES One should sell like hotcakes. Until then, it's probably Canon's market.