If there's one thing people love nowadays, it's instant gratification, especially when it comes to film. Polaroid has been the leading brand in shoot and print cameras for years and while it may be tough to track down film for your old models, they're continually striving to bring newer and more technologically savvy models to their fans. Well, Instagram fanatics can rejoice, because Polaroid's newest offering, the Socialmatic, is set to arrive in the fall!
The new camera will retail for $299 and is actually a partnership between Polaroid and Socialmatic, which is a standalone project. "Polaroid was the original social network: allowing people to instantly capture, print and share life’s moments in a way that had never been possible before, " said Scott W. Hardy, President and CEO of Polaroid. "This relationship with Socialmatic allows Polaroid to come full circle and once again allow people to capture and share images in ways that are only possible with a Polaroid camera in their hands."
Combining the nostalgic feel of Polaroid's vintage cameras with modern trends, the square Socialmatic is able to connect and share (via built-in Wi-Fi and Android interface) to many social media platforms. You will be able to choose between using the 14 megapixel front-side camera or the two megapixel rear-side camera, each giving you an instant photo and the option of posting it online. The LED flash will help you out in low lighting, and you can save your shots either to the Micro SD card or to the Socialmatic's internal 4GB storage.
You can also edit your photo on the 4.5-inch touchscreen LCD display before printing and posting it, like making some touch-ups and adding text, clip art and icons — pretty much everything you like to do with the countless photography apps you already have on your iPhone. Once you're happy, printing takes less than a minute and gives you a 2x3-inch full-color sticker-backed ZINK photo (which uses ink-free Zero Ink Printing technology).
The camera is pretty small, which would make traveling with it really easy. Plus, it seems to come with a really neat carrying case that looks like something your dad would have carried around in college. For us retro-loving photographers, what's cooler than that?
"We are proud to join forces with the iconic Polaroid brand to introduce this new generation of instant products to the market," said Antonio DeRosa, CEO of Socialmatic™ LLC. "Combining the Polaroid heritage with our new social network technology and the ZINK Technology, we can introduce a unique and innovative camera to consumers."
