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Tomy's printer-equipped Xiao digital camera hits Japan
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
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]
Poladroid beta is seriously awesome
Geezers like me probably remember Polaroid cameras. Before the instant gratification of digital, we stood in the back yard shaking a slowly-developing print of Aunt Shirley sitting with her sheet cake. The result was a square, over-saturated print that would be passed around with calls of "Don't get frosting all over that!"While the Polaroid corporation stopped production of the bulky cameras in February of 2008, you can still find a few in stores. Or just try Poladroid.Poladroid creates Polaroid-style images from your photos. The UI is a lot of fun. Drop your photos onto the Poladroid "camera," and after a few seconds, it spits out your unprocessed print. Watch it slowly "develop," or speed up the process by -- you guessed it -- shaking vigorously. You can create an image at any stage in your print's development by double-clicking and selecting "Take a sample." When your print is fully ready, a red "x" appears on the bottom.This application, while in beta, is a whole lot of fun. I dropped a dozen pictures onto it in the first five minutes and the results are just great.I'm really looking forward to the progress of this little app.
Polaroid digicam to feature integrated PoGo printer in 2009
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
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-26682%
Zink-based Polaroid PoGo makes its debut
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 intros 60GB Freescape 4360 WiFi-enabled PMP
If you were wondering if you'd ever hear another peep about that Freescape digital media ecosystem that Polaroid trumpeted in January, here's your answer. Quietly launched on the firm's own website, the Freescape 4360 (also known as the MPU-043315B) is a WiFi-enabled portable media player packin' a 60GB hard drive, a rechargeable Li-ion good for 16 hours of audio playback (just 4 hours with video), a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 resolution LCD, an FM tuner, TV output and support for MPEG4, WMA, WMV, MP3 and JPEG formats. Mum's the word on a price or release date, but without handling a few more formats, we can't see any Archos / Cowon / iriver lovers switching sides for this.[Via ShinyShiny]
Polaroid to shake Instant Digital photo frame into reality [Update: sorry, game off!]
For every terrible mockup we see, there's a few that stand out -- and it looks like that Digital Polaroid frame concept we spotted a couple weeks ago caught some eyes over at Polaroid as well, because the company has apparently contacted designer Dave Friedman and is working on making it a real product. That's a pretty fitting tribute to a classic gone by -- but we won't be appeased unless you can shake this thing to make new photos appear.Update: Looks like Stuff misconstrued a simple statement made by a Polaroid employee (that he saw and "liked" the concept), and ran the whole thing as fact. Shocking. David Friedman, the concept's originator, got in touch and let us know that "I wish [it] were the case, but unfortunately the first I heard of this was earlier today in a post on Stuff Magazine's website. ... So I think this still goes in the "rumor" category for now."
Digital Polaroid photo frame concept brings it all rushing back
Polaroid film may be gone, but for some of us with fond memories of the format -- for no discernible reason, Polaroids were slow, blurry and expensive -- this digital picture frame concept seems a fitting tribute. There's a dry erase portion on the bottom, and the frame can stand on its own or be pinned to a cork board for added realism. "Standard" mode emulates a regular digital frame, while "Classic" mode slowly fades the picture into view. Yeah, maybe a little too cute for its own good, but maybe we like it that way. [Via Gadget Lab]
Don't throw out that Polaroid just yet, make it digital
Just because Polaroid isn't going to sell you film for your camera anymore doesn't mean you have to go Zink and toss your analog. Geek Technique's got a guide -- surely the first of many -- to transforming an old Polaroid into a digital camera (in this case, a USB-connected webcam).
Polaroid no longer does Polaroids
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.
Polaroid launches Freescape digital media ecosystem
On the real, we're not quite sure we're ready to sink hard-earned dollars into a digital media "ecosystem" crafted by the same folks working up mobile printers and craptastic portable DVD players, but we suppose we can't kvetch over any extra competition. Apparently, the firm's Freescape initiative is based around the Digital Media Exchange (pictured), which stores your precious content and passes it along to other Freescape products -- you know, like the accompanying Digital Media Extender, wireless digiframe and wireless PMP. No word on a price for any of this kit just yet, but we've all ideas that's a-okay with the most of you.[Via Pocket-Lint]
Video: Polaroid / Zink mobile printer demonstrated at CES
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.
Polaroid unveils 7-inch XSJ-00750M digital photo frame
Just as soon as Digital Foci introduced a trio of digital photo frames, along comes Polaroid with a 7-incher of its own. The XSJ-00750M rocks a 480 x 234 widescreen panel, 400:1 contrast ratio, 250 cd/m2 brightness, USB 2.0 connectivity and a multicard reader that handles SD, MMC, CF, MS, MSPro and MSDuo. Aside from sifting through your JPEG collection, it also plays back MP3 files, and just in case you've got a thing for varying colors, you'll be delighted to know that this one comes with black, white and wood colored frames. Grab one next month (if you're in Japan, that is) for ¥17,000 ($149).[Via FarEastGizmos]
Polaroid shows off a portable DVD player with iPod dock, total lack of effort
Okay, we understand that the newest iPods have locked video-out, so we'll ignore the fact that the Polaroid DPJ-08580B portable DVD player with iPod dock only works with 5G models, but there's no excuse for the rest of the specs -- especially stretching 480 x 234 resolution across an 8.5-inch screen. Top it off with the usual overwrought portable DVD player design and a ¥28000 ($252) pricetag, and you've got a nice little bundle of fail just waiting to be put under the tree.[Via Pocket-lint]
Polaroid launches Definia line of LCD HDTVs
We know, at this very moment you're probably out fighting the crowds in an attempt to secure a brand new HDTV at an atypically low price, but just in case you missed Polaroid's announcement earlier this month, here's the skinny. The firm most commonly associated with snap-and-indulge photography has launched a new series of LCD HDTVs, and best of all, the trio is available right now. The new Definia lineup includes a 32-, 37- and 42-inch model, all of which boast an all-black motif, 1,336 x 768 resolution, 500 cd/m2 brightness, an eight-millisecond response time, integrated speakers, automatic volume control, two HDMI / SCART ports, component / composite inputs, digital optical audio in / out, VGA and a CI slot to boot. From smallest to largest, you'll find contrast ratios of 1,200:1, 1,000:1 and 1,500:1 to go along with the projected £400 ($823), £650 ($1,338) and £750 ($1,544) price tags. Not too shabby (if you live in the UK), eh?[Via Shiny Shiny]
Polaroid and Zink develop Digital Instant Mobile Photo Printer
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.
Polaroid readying pocket-friendly budget PMP?
While Polaroid has certainly dabbled in the PMP realm before, the elusive black handheld that you see above could be its next foray. Reportedly, the not-yet-named (or at least we hope, as "Portable Media Player" would be laughable at best) device will boast a 2.2-inch 320 x 240 resolution display, USB 2.0 connectivity, 512MB of internal storage, a microSD expansion slot, built-in FM tuner, voice recorder, and somewhere close to 20-hours of battery life. Additionally, it's mentioned that we could see a stopwatch and a few mini-games thrown in too, and while pricing and availability details aren't confirmed, word on the street suggests that this thing will run users just under £99 ($198) -- if it ever comes out, that is.
Polaroid's Digital Entertainment Center revealed in FCC documents
It looks as though Polaroid is about to get into the set-top box game with a new product the company has sent to the FCC for review. Apparently holding steady on its path away from cameras, Polaroid has cooked up an all-in-one, do-everything "Digital Entertainment Center" (or DEC, as they're calling it). The main purpose of the device will apparently be to store and stream your media to a TV, stereo, or any other old-world box you have lying around. The DEC will have a hard drive of indeterminate capacity, and will feature 802.11b/g, HDMI and component outs, two USB ports, as well as composite and S-Video ins and outs for video, with RCA ins and outs, plus coaxial and optical outs for audio. On the front you'll have access to a slew of slots (MMC, SD, MD, CF, Memory Stick), as well as additional USB, video, and audio jacks. So now the questions are when, where, how much, what kind of OS, and what is it compatible with? We'll be poring over the many, many pages of FCC papers while we wait on those answers.
ZINK bringing printers to your handheld gadgetry
Although you probably haven't shaken a Polaroid picture in quite some time, a bit of that allure is reportedly headed to your handhelds, as Massachusetts-based ZINK looks to deliver a pocket-sized printer that can be "embedded in any device" and shoot out photos sans ink. The sensational sounding product will initially be used to print 2- x 3-inch color photographs, and interestingly enough, won't require a single drop of liquid to form the images. In ZINK's system (another pic after the break), "images are created when a heated printer head comes into contact with a sheet of specialized paper," which is actually a polymer containing three crystalline layers. Varying temperatures and pressure points create the pixels of color, and just in case you figure out your latest printout doesn't showcase your eye color as well as you'd hoped, it's recyclable. The company's first offerings will likely be offered in a $99 standalone format or as a $199 camera / printer hybrid, while the snazzy paper will run you $19.95 for a pack of one hundred, but we're definitely holding off on this here invention until we see just how impressive (or not) the printed results actually are. [Warning: PDF read link][Via CNET]
