Polaroid Pogo

Go on, throw a PoGo Party

When I first saw the name of the Polaroid PoGo I immediately thought of a bizarre hybrid of a giant version of the classic instant camera that could also somehow be used for jumping around on like a kangaroo. However, my mind soon stopped racing as I quickly realised that PoGo was in fact a clever acronym for ‘Polaroid’ and ‘On-The-Go’. At least, I think it is.

After nearly 10 years in the making, Polaroid finally launched the successor to the Polaroid camera last year. Roughly the size of a mobile phone circa-1995, the PoGo is a mobile Bluetooth printer that prints 3″ by 2″ full-colour shots straight from a mobile phone in less than 60 seconds. It also has a USB port for use with digital cameras, though this is far less appealing than simply sending it wirelessly via Bluetooth from your mobile. Using zink (zero ink) laser technology means there are no cartridges to replace, and the smudge-proof photo paper has an ingenious sticker back to it, too. Ideal for slapping an embarrassing photo on a friend’s back on a night out perhaps? Or perhaps a photograph of a blocked toilet plastered on the cubicle door to warn potential users off? (you’re weird – Ed)

You could even throw a ‘PoGo Party’ (although the likelihood of an inebriated guest bluetoothing a dodgy photo is extremely high… part of the fun, maybe?).

The truth is I was fairly excited about this product and I decided to buy one for my girlfriends’ birthday. Before you say anything (she is into gadgets too, honest… well, sometimes…) I had the perfect PoGo day trip planned – a trip to a crazy golf course, her favourite leisure activity! Perfect. We documented our crazy golfing experience on the train journey home, and before you knew it there was a PoGo album full of funny little credit card sized photos appearing after weekends away, nights out and gigs. Some classic, long-forgotten old photos were even rediscovered from the forsaken archives of our mobile phones.

The main downsides to the PoGo are the fairly average picture quality and poor battery life, which only lasts for about 10-15 prints. Also far from ideal is the cost of the photo paper which comes in at around £4 for 10 sheets. The PoGo does not currently work with the iPhone either. Despite these flaws, the PoGo may just revitalise an ailing brand – in the same way that vinyl records and 7” singles in particular are still going strong, maybe the same paradox will apply to photography and the PoGo will re-start a boom in demand for a tangible instant photo? As the technology behind the print quality and battery life improves, surely it’s only a matter of time. Maybe it will go full circle and the PoGo II will also be a camera?

With prices now as low as 40 quid, this novel wee gadget (available in black, pink and soon, orange) could be getting a lot more popular very soon.  Sit it on your coffee table and see what happens…