MaximumPC 2008 10

94 |MAMAMAXIMXIMXIMXIMUUUUMMPPPCC|OCT 08 |www.maximumpc.com

IN THE LAB^

REVIEWS OF THE LATEST HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

I

f you still get warm and fuzzy thinking

about those James Garner and Mariette

Hartley Polaroid commercials, it’s time to

let go of the past. Traditional film is barely

hanging on, and Polaroid has completely

ceased production of instant film.

But Polaroid hasn’t abandoned its

interest in prints. The company is trying to

rekindle the instant-print picture industry

with its new Polaroid PoGo portable printer.

This 4.75”x2.75”x1” device is the first to use

Zink Imaging’s Zero Ink paper. Instead of

shooting dots of ink onto a piece of paper,

the PoGo uses a thermal head to heat up

tiny crystals embedded in each sheet of

paper. Polaroid says standard dpi rules don’t

apply, but the resolution is comparable to

300 dpi and each sheet has about 100 bil-

lion crystals in it. Each pic will cost about 33

cents to print.

The PoGo holds 10 2”x3” borderless

sheets of paper. On a full charge, you can get

up to 20 prints out of it, if you’re lucky—not

enough, in our book. It doesn’t help the PoGo

that its power brick is about the same size as

the printer itself.

When we connected our camera via the

PoGo’s USB type A port, the printer cranked

out a photo in 30 seconds. You can also

hook up your Bluetooth-enabled camera

phone to print pictures. Or maybe not.

Three of our phones failed to print via

Bluetooth. After browsing Polaroid’s list of

approved phones, we came to the conclu-

sion that you have a 50 percent chance of

printing from your handset. It’s not Pola-

roid’s fault, though: Bluetooth is one of the

most botched technology rollouts in history,

but Polaroid will certainly get the blame.

That’s unfortunate because there’s a lot

to be said for the PoGo’s fun factor. Each

print has a light adhesive backing, so you

can stick your prints anywhere. Image

quality is average, but the PoGo isn’t about

creating crystal clear photos. It’s about the

instantaneous fun of being able to give a

picture to someone right after you snap it.

The PoGo is defi nitely a generation 1.0

product, and as such, we recommend it only

for someone willing to overlook its numer-

ous flaws in image quality, battery life, and

Bluetooth connectivity. We do, however,

look forward to the second-generation

PoGo. –G O R D O N M A H U N G

Polaroid PoGo

Shaking it doesn’t make the print develop any faster

Fun yet fl awed, the PoGo tries to recapture

the fun of a Polaroid.

VERDICT

$150, http://www.polaroid.com

6

Fun and truly mobile

printer that you can

actually take with you.

Power brick is huge;

battery life must be

improved.

KNUCKLEBALL

POLAROID POGO

KNUCKLE SANDWICH