Nikon seems poised to be the first company to bring 'cordless' digital still cameras to consumers, it seems. The Coolpix P1 and Coolpix P2 cameras will use 802.11 Wi-Fi technology to transfer images to your PC or printer.

The cameras are due to arrive in retail later in September. The 8 megapixel P1 and 5 megapixel P2 will sell for $550 and $400 respectively. Both will offer 3.5X optical zoom, have the capability of transferring images to PC immediately they are taken (handy for laptop users) and be able to connect either directly to a single PC or to a network via a Wireless base station.

When transferring images directly to PC, the camera will store the images in memory until the transfer is complete, at which time camera memory will be freed ready for the next image. 'Immediately' won't be as good as it sounds, however. A full resolution 8 megapixel image will take 8 seconds to transfer, whilst a 5 megapixel image a bit over 4 seconds.

The Kodak 'EasyShare-One' wireless digital still camera is due to be showcased in late September, and will be launched in early October.