Eye-Fi Inc. is taking a new step in enhancing the photo sharing experience by introducing the Eye-Fi Explore, a memory card that allows users to upload photos from over 10,000 hotspots, including from their home wireless network. The card was first unveiled at the O’Reilly Where 2.0 Conference, and is the result of a partnership with Skyhook Wireless and Wayport, the company said.

The result of the partnership with Skyhook Wireless is the geotagging feature that allows users to map where the photos were taken, by locating nearby Wi-Fi access points (within the Skyhook coverage area) and encoding the photos with geographic information, allowing any transferred image, whether on the user’s computer or through online sharing, to be automatically tagged.

“The Eye-Fi Explore delivers the two enhancements most requested by our users,” said Jef Holove, CEO for Eye-Fi, in a statement. “Our geotagging service automates what is today a compelling, though time-consuming and manual, experience. And, our hotspot access will allow travelers, bloggers, and anyone on the go to upload, share and save their pictures before they even get home.”

Skyhook currently covers approximately 70 percent of the population in North America, top 50 metropolitan areas in Europe and plans for further expansion, including in Japan, Korea or Taiwan are underway, which means geotagging will be coming your way sooner or later.

“Geotagging is fast becoming popular with online photo enthusiasts because it gives more meaning to photos and it allows photographers to better organize their images,” Mark Geller, Business Product Manager of Google’s Picasa Web Albums, commented. “Eye-Fi’s efforts to make geotagging automatic will help make it a fundamental element of digital photography for everyday users.”

The Eye-Fi Explore memory card is 2GB in size, and includes unlimited Web uploads, unlimited geotagging and one year of hotspot access at Wayport locations, the company unveiled. Staring June 6 2008, the Eye-Fi Explore will be available for $129.00.