As I am searching for some place to put my pictures that I've taken over the last holday, birthdays and other ocasions, I have look into some of the "web 2.0" image hosts and came to the conclusion that zooomr is pretty much what I was looking for. My criteria are:

• Free (web 2.0 stuff usually has a free basic membership and some paid "deluxe" features, I am a poor student and prefer not to pay. There are other ways to make money)
• Unlimited storage (I don't think I really need it, but I don't like limits)
• Easy API to use for upload tools (because it's usually too much of a hassle to upload via webinterface... unless it's flash or some really nifty javascript)
• Good management features (because that's what a photo album basically is. Managed pictues)
• Some cool featues (surprise me! ;D )

I startet using Picasa Web Albums some time ago and it worked pretty fine, but as I realized that I already had filled 50% of my "free" space, I decided to look for something else. At first I wanted to try flickr because it's the most known picture host and that usually has a reason. I went there and realized quickly that I don't really liked the idea of making a yahoo ID just for Flickr and I also didn't like the monthly transfer limit. When you have a free Flickr account, you can upload 100MB worth of photos each calendar month. While that usually would be way too much for me, I would run into problems while uploading all the stuff I collected on SD Cards over the last few months. Next I tried 23hq because it came up on some google search I did. While 23hq ist really nice concerning the manageability of albums, but there is a limit of 30 photos per month (while still in beta: 200), so this one was out of the race too. Now we come to what seems to be my final choice: Zooomr. The signup: I was finally able to use my openid so it was a very quick signup. Nothing out of the ordinary. Apparently it also works with gmail/google accounts The Costs: You usually have a limit of 100 MB uploads per month and unlimited storage. With the basic account you seem to be limited to 1024x768 sized pics. While that kinda sucks, it isn't really that bad because Zooomr loves bloggers :) You'll receive a pro account with a maximum upload of 4 gb/month and unlimited storage of your full-resolution photos! The only thing you'll have to do is host one picture in your blog posts on zooomr, use the integrated HTML embedding code and go over to http://beta.zooomr.com/proitizer. Just insert the URL of the blog entry with the zooomr hosted picture and you'll get automatically upgraded! The API: As they already recommend juploadr on their page, I decided to use it and what can I say... works fine for me after using the FAQ to enable Zooomr uploading instead of Flickr:) The Cons:

• Uploading speed using juploadr is at about 50-60 kb/s, while that is ok, the zooomr servers seem to be limited and it would be cool if I'd be able to use my full 120 kb/s at home
• NO WAY TO CREATE SIMPLE PHOTO ALBUMS! The only thing for the moment is creating "Smart Sets" by defining filters (photographed on, tag, owner, ...). But I'm sure it will work sooner or later... it's still beta after all
• The just mentioned smart sets don't seem to work. Even after setting myself in the "owner" filter part, I get lots of pictures by other people in my custom sets. Also: I haven't found out where to change the picture the whole set is represented by
• The usability is kinda poor atm. For example: if you visit zooomr.com you'll find yourself on the "Tour" page even if you've already got an account and should have matching a cookie set. Even after you click on the "WelcomeMat" link, you are transfered to a page which asks what you want to do. Basically, when I log into zooomr I directly want to go to my Photo-Albums. If I wanna do something else, I'll klick on it. But I think >75% want to be taken to their pictures

Cool stuff:

• Geo tagging: you can use google maps to geo-tag your images, so you can always see where a photo was taken! Great feature for trips or holidays

  GeoTagging Screenshot Hosted on Zooomr

• Auto resize: Great thing for blogging, you can select 5 different sizes and directly grab you html code
• mail upload: nice thing if you wanna use your cellphone to make pictures available
• light map: You can search for photos that have been taken in particular places

  Lightmap Screenshot Hosted on Zooomr

• Private <--> Public Photos: Well, you get it... on of the "must have" features
I'll keep you updated :D