After a bit of technical difficulty, which bumped the release of the new Zooomr platform back a few days (originally planned for Friday, July 14th), Zooomr 2.0 has finally hit the ‘net. I assume this is actually version 2.0 of the beta because the site still redirects (as of Tuesday morning) to the beta.zooomr.com server and the logo still reads “beta.” But then again, since it seems that “beta” is the hot thing in “web 2.0″ trends, so maybe I’m totally wrong.

First Log-In

The first thing I noticed upon log in is that all user authentication has been moved to OpenID. However, if you previously authenticated via a different method (eg. Google TPass), never fear – your goods aren’t lost. However, after the first log in you will be required to merge your account details into the OpenID system. Since I was not a card carrying OpenID user, I opted to create a new ID. After completing the MyOpenID registration (I really need to read up on the OpenID system, it’s quite promising), I was directed to my newly merged account. In my opinion, the transition process is smooth and well excecuted. One thing to remember while signing up for MyOpenID is the name that entered during the sign up becomes your OpenID url (eg. Matthew Smith becomes matthew.smith.myopenid.com). I think that the OpenID idea is great, but it will need the support of many more mainstream sites and applications before really begins to shine.

Interface

After logging in, you are greeted with the “WelcomeMat,” your launch pad of sorts. It appears pretty much the same as in the old Zooomr site, with the noticeable change to a black background. A row of tabs across the top of the interface will take you to various areas of the site as expected. The “Discover,” “You,” and “World” tabs will give you a second row of related links as you mouse over them. Overall the interface looks pretty nice and polished, but not quite as slick as Flickr…

The Profile page has been updated with some new fields, including a relationship status (single, taken, available, or rather not say), gender, timezone, website info, instant messaging information (AIM, Yahoo, etc), and a little bit of info about what you do and where you live. All fields are optional.

One noticeable missing feature is the lack of an uploading application. It is a great inconvenience to use the browse dialog for every photo (10 at a time) when you are trying to upload 100 photos. It is easier to use an offline program that allows you to drag and drop multiple files from Explorer or your photo management software to an upload queue and then hit upload and go get a drink of coffee. At the moment, your only other option is to use email uploading (for camera phones, etc).

The photo viewing interface is still much the same as before; while initially similar to Flickr, there are a few nice features such as geotagging and an inspector to view further details of the image. I have yet to fully investigate these features, but they look nice.

Performance

While I can’t yet determine if this is a long term symptom or due to the traffic from the launch or just my connection, but the site still seems to run a bit on the slow side. Maps take a moment to update and certain data takes seems to take a while to load. However, these results are inconclusive and not a reason to shy away from the site. As time goes on and I can check it from other computers, I will be back with further information.

Conclusion

Zooomr is a nice new social photo site with a few welcome features. While it is not yet to the level of Flickr, I am sure as time passes things will become more and more attractive. As an example, they are giving away free Pro accounts to bloggers – all you must do is blog one image from your Zooomr account and then let them know about it. At the moment, the Pro service is not really completed (from what I can tell) – you simply get a little “pro” tag beside your name and are informed about your new 2Gb upload limit. As they add features, I’m sure these accounts will become more valuable, but only time will tell. For now, I recommend taking advantage of the offer and checking out what Zooomr has in store. Be sure to check the Official Zooomr Blog for more info (a list of new features promises to be forthcoming) and while you’re at it, check out Zooomr Hits for a smattering of Zooomr photos.