Did you know Polaroid was still in business? Neither did I. I thought the digital camera revolution pretty much pushed them over the edge of the Internet.
But they’re still around, and now they’re doing Android.
The Polaroid PoGo 3×4 Instant Print portable printer can print photos right from your Android phone using their free app and a Bluetooth connection. You can also use a USB connection if you enjoy messing about with cables. Polaroid has had a PoGo printer for a more than a year that printed 2 x 3 inch photos on stickyback paper (peel off the protective paper to stick, keep it on otherwise). They will introduce a 3 x 4 inch version for the holidays this year. The 2 x 3 printer is available for $49.99 in the US, and 30 sheets of Zink paper for $12.99 at US retailer Target. The new 3 x 4 printer is expected to retail for around $100.
The photographic paper is a zero-ink product called Zink. It works by having colorless dye crystals embedded in paper with a polymer coating. The printer heat-treats the Zink paper which activates the cyan, magenta and yellow dyes to produce full color images.
Here’s a screenshot from the Polaroid PoGo app:
It allows frame shooting with 79 different styles of frame, text input, and the ability to divide frames into 2 x 2 inch images. It has color calibration and optimization, auto focus, and of course, it can print to a PoGo device. Android 2.0 and up is required (1.6 on Sony Xperia), with a screen size of at least 480 x 800. It also requires an SD card.
And for your moment of neener neener toward your iPhone-toting friends, Pogo’s iOS version is languishing in Apple App Store Approval Limbo. Apple is extra deliberative (a technical term for slow) with Bluetooth features in their approval process.
Sources: Phandroid, IntoMobile, Image from Pocket-lint
