Polaroid 2.0: Not as groovy as the original but still fun

Polaroid 2.0: Not as groovy as the original but still fun

Ask your parents, and they'll probably tell you Polaroid cameras were the iPhone of their day. I'm not that old, but I still remember them being all the rage when I was growing up because you could see your snapshots almost instantaneously. Thank goodness for the digital camera though, because no matter how awesome Polaroids were, the quality of those photos was just terrible.

The good news for Polaroid fans is the company is trying to bring back the instant photo experience. Its most recent attempt was the PoGo Instant Mobile Printer which uses Bluetooth to print out 2x3-inch photos taken with your cell phone. The problem with this device is price, and unlike a real Polaroid camera, the PoGo printer doesn't include a camera. In contrast, a similar device that uses Zink's technology and comes with a built-in digital camera was just announced in Japan. This is exactly what I was waiting for.

Aimed at young people, the Tomy xiao TIP-521 is a five-megapixel camera with a built-in full color Zink printer. Xiao, like PoGo, can print 2x3-inch color photos, and features an IrDA receiver so you can print photos sent from other IrDA devices.

Other features include a 2.48-inch LCD screen, 16MB of internal memory, 4x digital zoom, infrared port, and memory card slot that supports SD and SDHC cards. The great thing is this printer doesn't use ink, but you do have to buy special Zink paper which is usually pretty expensive.

The xiao will be launched in Japan on November 28 and in America sometime in May according to Crunchgear. The starting price is $320, and you get to choose from pink, black, and blue.