The Sleeping Wi-Fi Chip in Your Lytro Camera has Awakened

One of the coolest consumer gadgets to have come out in the last few years is the Lytro Camera, a boxy little thing that takes amazing photographs through “light field” technology. The image-capturing technology is unique in that because it allows users to take pictures composed of all visible light the camera’s lens can pick up, as opposed to a traditional camera’s single-plane image-capturing.

The technique allows users to make tons of adjustments to its focus and perspective after the photo’s already been snapped—but today, another of the Lytro’s talents has been discovered. Apparently the camera’s got a built-in Wi-Fi chip—a fact that hasn’t gotten much press until today because it’s been dormant until now—and the company just woke it up via a firmware update.

In addition to allowing users to suddenly take advantage of the camera’s wireless capabilities, Lytro has also released a free mobile app for iOS devices that lets users share photos right onto Facebook via their iPhones. Better yet, it also allows users to create animated gifs on the fly. Creating a “moving” gif is relatively easy for the Lytro device because it takes in so much image data. The result is an image that seems to focus in and out on a particular point, or a “perspective shift” that makes it look like the figures in the image wobble back and forth.

A post on AllThingsD notes that Lytro is planning on releasing an app for Android devices as well, which would be great for all us non-iPhoners. Sadly, the least expensive version of the Lytro—one equipped with 8GB of internal storage—is still a cool $399. But considering how much more interesting and useful the device has suddenly gotten, it wouldn’t be too surprising if there were a sudden surge in interest for the gadget. The post also notes that the Lytro camera’s also equipped with a yet-to-be-activated Bluetooth chip as well.

Personally? I’ve always wanted one ever since I first heard about it. Now that I can connect it to the Internet on the go, I want one even more