Zink -- Engadget

Dell's Wasabi PZ310 ZINK printer now available for $99

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 10th 2009 at 2:00PM

Not like Dell itself didn't already confirm this puppy, but the first Dell-branded, ZINK-enabled product is officially official. The Wasabi PZ310 ultra-mobile printer promises to produce 2- x 3-inch prints in under a minute, and users with Bluetooth-enabled handsets can send over images for printing with just a few button mashes. The sub-7 ounce device measures in at 4.8- x 2.8- x 0.9-inches, and it'll be made available in black, pink and blue hues. The middling minutiae is all posted up after the break, and those eager to get their paws on one will certainly appreciate the immediate availability and the $99 promotional price. Better hurry -- only Round Rock knows when it'll jump back up to the standard $149.

Continue reading Dell's Wasabi PZ310 ZINK printer now available for $99

Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera hands-on

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 9th 2009 at 7:16PM

Polaroid's PoGo Instant Digital Camera isn't for the hardcore geeks -- it's stuck with a 5 megapixel sensor, no optical zoom whatsoever and an LCD monitor that was fanciful in 1998. What it can do, however, is churn out photo stickers in around 60 seconds after a photo is taken without the need for an external printer. Have a look at the March-bound unit below, and look, your kids will love it. Promise.

Gallery: Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera hands-on

Dell (finally) confirms its portable Wasabi Zink printer

by Paul Miller, posted Jan 9th 2009 at 12:17PM

Details are frustratingly absent, but Dell just came clean on that portable Zink printer of theirs, the Wasabi, that we saw run by the FCC in September. Luckily, all these Zink printers are pretty much the same -- meaning specialized 2 x 3-inch paper for ink-free printing, and a pretty stonking tiny form factor. Like most of the rest of the products introduced at Dell's ridiculously uninformative press event today, there's no word on price or release date.

Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera debuts at CES

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 8th 2009 at 5:38PM

We heard that Polaroid would be punching out a PoGo-infused camera in 2009, and it only took 'em eight days into the new year to do just that. Today at CES, the $199 PoGo Instant Digital Camera is making its grand entrance, utilizing the tried-and-true ZINK printing technology. Sadly (and we do mean sadly), there's not even a mention of how many megapixels this thing boasts, which is a pretty telling sign that you won't be getting SD850IS-type quality out of it. Nevertheless, it'll print out ink-free 2- x 3-inch images right from itself, so maybe the quality isn't that big of a deal after all. Or maybe we're just sympathetic.

Takara Tomy Xiao printer-camera excretes prints

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 27th 2008 at 3:38PM

We never knew that cameras could be constipated, nor that excrement could be framed, but apparently Takara Tomy knows better than us.

Tomy's printer-equipped Xiao digital camera hits Japan

by Donald Melanson, posted Nov 26th 2008 at 6:02PM

We already caught a brief glimpse of Tomy's Zink printer-equipped Xiao digital camera earlier this month, but with the Friday release date now upon us, we finally have a few more details about the would-be Polaroid successor. That includes word of a price for both the camera (¥34,800, or just under $370), and the paper you'll need to actually print photos which, at ¥880 (or about $9) for 20 sheets, likely won't have you plastering your walls with the 2x3-inch shots, even though they do actually have adhesive backs. Interestingly, you can also use the camera to print photos from any IrDA-equipped cellphone, but unfortunately not via WiFi or Bluetooth, which would be a tad more welcome. If that's got you intrigued, you should have a slightly easier time picking one up when it launches internationally next spring, although by then it'll likely also be competing with Polaroid's own Zink-equipped camera.

Tomy xiao digital camera has built in Zink printer, the spirit of Polaroids

by Samuel Axon, posted Nov 6th 2008 at 2:26PM

Like just about everyone else, we miss the Polaroid film format; maybe it's just nostalgia, but we enjoyed having something we could hold on to (and shake) after taking a picture. Polaroids may be dead, but the basic concept lives on -- remember Zink, that company whose technology prints digital photos on the spot without ink? It's joined forces with toy-maker Tomy to make the xiao TIP-521, a digital camera with a printer built in. The xiao has a modest five megapixel resolution, so we might wait and see how Polaroid's own Zink camera turns out, but in either case we're stoked the tactile experience is back.

[Via Market Watch]

Dell's ink-free Zink PZ310 WASABI printer splashes down in FCC

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 29th 2008 at 11:36AM

Up until now, the words "Zink" and "Polaroid" were all but married together, but a breakup fit for The Hills is about to go down courtesy of the all-too-promiscuous Dell. Over in the deep waters of the FCC, we're seeing a new Dell printer that utilizes the ink-free Zink technology. The PZ310 WASABI is yet another handheld printer that comes bundled with a single stack of printing paper, Bluetooth technology for printing from your mobile / BT-enabled PC, a USB port for traditionalists and a Reprint button for obvious reasons. As with everything in the FCC, the agency is never kind enough to hand over any preliminary pricing / release information, but it ought not be long now before Dell starts shipping these things without even telling anyone.

Polaroid digicam to feature integrated PoGo printer in 2009

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 12th 2008 at 5:10PM

We had this inkling that it was only a matter of time before a PoGo-infused camera came to market, and at long last, we finally know (well, sort of) how long we're talking. Sometime in 2009, the aforesaid company will be pushing out a digital camera that includes an on board printer based around the Zink technology. The device will be capable of ejecting 4- x 3-inch prints, and curiously enough, it sounds like you could actually have a say in what it looks like. No, seriously -- hit the read link and have a look.

[Via Wired]

Polaroid PoGo portable photo printer hands-on, Engadget reader style

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jul 2nd 2008 at 3:26PM

Hold up! Polaroid may not be dead just yet! A trusty reader was nice enough to give us some hands-on time with his new Polaroid Pogo Zink-based printer. The diminutive device is clearly meant to give us that old-school insta-print social feeling with its 2 x 3-inch photos, but results were less than a barrel o' monkeys. Engadget reader David says that while the unit is "cute," there's nothing very instant about it as prints take at least 60 seconds -- not including connection in or Bluetooth pairing time. On the plus side, prints are sturdy and don't tear easily, but David couldn't resist burning one of them just to see how the thermal paper reacted. In the end, he says this is a decent gadget for those in the know, but you're not going to put this at the center of a party like you would an old-school Instamatic. Peep the gallery for David's hands-on goodness.

[Thanks, David]

Gallery: Polaroid PoGo

Zink-based Polaroid PoGo makes its debut

by Ryan Block, posted Jun 4th 2008 at 8:23PM

It's gone by a couple names since we first heard about it two CESs ago (Zink, Digital Instant Mobile Photo Printer, etc.) but the first Zink-based product is finally on its way to buyers as the Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer. It'll run you $150 for the unit (and $10 per pack of 30 sheets), and can print up to fifteen 2 x 3-inch photos on its rechargeable battery from any PictBridge capable camera or over Bluetooth. PC Magazine took a peek and found each print took between a minute and a half to two minutes (the latter over Bluetooth), and felt the quality was adequate at best, albeit sufficient for such small prints. Still, it's no secret that your options are extremely limited when it comes to pocketable printers, even of the dye-sub variety (which Zink-based devices like the PoGo hope to put out to pasture).

Polaroid no longer does Polaroids

by Paul Miller, posted Feb 8th 2008 at 7:25PM

Well doesn't OutKast look silly now. The brand synonymous with instant film is killing off the Polaroid film format and attempting to reinvent the brand so it "lives on for the next 30 to 40 years." In the short term that means closing factories in Massachusetts, Mexico and the Netherlands, cutting 450 jobs, and breaking the hearts of hipster-photographers the world over. Obviously the concept of Polaroids was never going to be much more than a niche in the age of digital photos, and the Polaroid / Zink Digital Instant Mobile Photo Printer is filling the instant development void left behind, but it's still sad to see a format with so much history and fond memories die, especially since Polaroid spends the majority of its time these days slapping its de-valued logo onto rubbish commodity electronics.

Video: Polaroid / Zink mobile printer demonstrated at CES

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 9th 2008 at 7:27AM

Seeing Polaroid / Zink's Digital Instant Mobile Photo Printer at CES didn't come as a surprise or anything, but seeing it in action was indeed a treat. If you've been understandably skeptical about how well this thing would actually work, click on through and see for yourself.

Continue reading Video: Polaroid / Zink mobile printer demonstrated at CES

Polaroid and Zink develop Digital Instant Mobile Photo Printer

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 14th 2007 at 5:47AM

We'd heard through the grapevine that the Zink portable printer camera would be getting boxed up and sent out to eager customers late this year, but now it seems as though Polaroid has jumped in for a bit of the action. Realistically, you shouldn't be too surprised that the former king of instant photography is syncing up with Zink, and we must say, this whole partnership conjures up some pretty fond memories of shakin' snapshots in tense anticipation as we waited for the scene to develop. Nostalgia aside, the firm's Digital Instant Mobile Photo Printer does indeed sport the Zink logo, and sure enough, it produces borderless 2- x 3-inch color prints instantly when fed images from a digicam or cellphone. We don't have a firmed up release date in front of us or anything, but all signs are pointing to soon -- very soon.

Zink portable printer camera shipping late 2007

by Conrad Quilty-Harper, posted Aug 12th 2007 at 9:37AM

We're still not entirely convinced how effective Zink's portable digital camera / printer combo will be, but at least now we have an expected ship date. Zink has updated their site to say that their "digital polaroid" will be shipping in late 2007, which will hopefully mean a fall release date. Zink has also released some of the Integrated Digital Camera and Printer's specifications, which aren't altogether that interesting -- it has a 7 Megapixel CCD, 2-inch display, and SD memory card slot, just so ya know. All we care about is how good the printer is on this chunky combo unit.

[Thanks, Piper]