As camera phones start to offer mega pixel image resolution they are becoming a real alternative to traditional compact cameras, the companion of holiday makers, day trippers and party goers the world over. The challenge is how to share those pictures. It is possible to create prints or use a product, like Nokia Image Viewer, to display photos on a TV set. However, these options lack the immediacy that could be achieved by uploading photos to one of the many web services for digital pictures. Until recently, uploading through a PC has been the only practical way to do this, hardly the immediate offering that should be possible. Many services allow pictures to be emailed in, but that is slow and laborious, and carries a data overhead.

One option to achieve instant uploads is ShoZu, from British developer Cognima. ShoZu is a free application that runs on a range of S60, UIQ and Java devices It can post photos directly to Flickr, Webshots and Textamerica (with other photo sites to be supported in the future, according to Cognima). ShoZu can also upload videos to Webshots and Textamerica, unfortunately video is not supported on Flickr.

Taking advantage of ShoZu, after creating an account on the chosen photo site, is simply a matter of registering at www.shozu.com and downloading the ShoZu software. The registration process is simple. The user suggests a username and password and authorizes ShoZu to access their account on the photo web site, before downloading the ShoZu software. It is also possible to define default tags for every uploaded item.

The software installation process starts by identifying the device model and phone number, after which ShoZu sends the device an SMS containing a link to download the ShoZu software. Selecting this link initiated the download process, which, when complete, automatically starts software installation.

Once ShoZu is installed the next step is activation. This is done by entering the ShoZu username and password chosen on the Web site.

Activation takes a few minutes. Once it is complete ShoZu is ready to use.

ShoZu's default behavior means that each time a photo is taken a prompt asks if the photo should be sent to the user's chosen photo site or if ShoZu should be opened.

Selecting "Save to web" does exactly that and returns directly to the camera application. Opening ShoZu displays a list of the photos on the devices. The primary reason for opening ShoZu is to add a comment and tags to the image.

Comments and tags can be added before or after photos are uploaded. If a comment is added before the photo is uploaded, the upload has to be manually initiated from ShoZu.

ShoZu adds an icon to each photo so its status can be easily identified. A ShoZu logo indicates uploaded photos, a green arrow indicates photos being (or waiting to be) uploaded, and a small speech bubble indicates the photos to which comments have been added.

Uploading from ShoZu is reliable and, as far as can be judged, is efficient with only a small overhead (about 4%) on the photo data used in transmission. (An email might add a 50% overhead.) If the upload is interrupted, by loss of the data connection due to a lack of coverage or an incoming call, the transfer is completed by only sending the outstanding data, not restarting the download.

While ShoZu's default behavior prompts the user as each photo is taken, it can be set to either automatically upload each photo taken (without prompting for confirmation) or to simply save photos into the device's album for later selection to upload. The behavior can be defined separately for photos and videos.

One other notable feature of ShoZu is that it can also send images to an email address via the ShoZu service. This means the phone only sends the data associated with the message, not the entire photo (although if a photo that is not already uploaded is sent, the photo is uploaded too).

The only real drawback to ShoZu is that is does not allow the album a photo is stored in to be controlled. In Flickr photos to be classified as public or private, with private photos visible in either a family or friends album. As part of the user profile the default albums for uploaded photos can be set. So if all photos go to a private album by default making them public must be done in the Flickr Web account.

It is worth noting that when a photo is deleted from the phone (to make space for new ones) they remain on the Flickr account.

For anyone with a camera phone, who wants to share their images, ShoZu is a great option. It is simple to set up using the web interface and simple to use. It has the flexibility to allow the user to shoot in the knowledge that all their images are instantly shared with friends and family - and maybe the rest of the world - but also gives the option to control the images uploaded. The upload process is reliable and frugal, with a small data overhead. ShoZu is free, which is an added bonus, although the user obviously has to pay for the data traffic. (Cognima have indicated a free version, with at least the current feature, will always be available.)

To sign up for ShoZu visit www.shozu.com. More information on the supported photo communities see www.flickr.com, www.textamerica.com or www.webshots.com.