A Zink (zero ink) printer, a bit like Polaroid’s own, lets you print out sticky-backed images on demand (Click Image To Enlarge)
THE CAMERA’S DESIGNER HAS ENTERED INTO A CONTRACT WITH POLAROID TO DEVELOP THE CONCEPT.
When we last wrote about Socialmatic, the concept for a web-enabled instant camera that uploads your snaps to Instagram and prints them out using an on-board printer, it was but a twinkle in the eye of Italian inventor Antonio De Rosa. The patently ridiculous industrial design, which is based on Instagram’s iOS icon, seemed as technically impossible as it was functionally unnecessary. And it seemed even less likely to materialize after De Rosa’s Indiegogo campaign failed to raise funds necessary to produce the camera, last year.
Last year, the web-enabled instant camera called Socialmatic was but a concept (Click Image To Enlarge)
Yet it seems that Socialmatic hasn’t been relegated to the back pages of a portfolio just yet. This week, De Rosa announced a partnership with one C&A Licensing LLC, a company that licenses the Polaroid brand. According to a statement, C&A will help De Rosa bring the Socialmatic to market by early 2014. De Rosa said
“It’s been a long and difficult negotiation. This mix of hardware and software, together with our brand new photo social network will fill the gap between virtuality and reality.”
The 16GB camera will have an 18.5-inch-square screen (Click Image To Enlarge)
It will allow you to apply retro-ish filters to your photos before uploading them to Facebook, Instagram, or a yet-to-be-designed Socialmatic app
If you missed the first round of press coverage, Socialmatic is a 16GB camera with a 4-inch-wide screen. It lets you apply retro-ish filters to your photos before uploading them to Facebook, Instagram, or a yet-to-be-designed Socialmatic app. A Zink (zero ink) printer, a bit like Polaroid’s own, lets you print out sticky-backed images on demand.
The Zink printer does not use ink cartridges and uses technology similar to the Polaroid PoGo printer (Click Image To Enlarge)
Despite being deeply embedded in Instagram culture, Socialmatic has no affiliation with the social photo app. Which is incredibly strange--the face of the device is plastered with Instagram’s SLR camera logo, and every picture it prints out is accompanied by a QR code link to your Instagram account.
Socialmatic is piggybacking on the wild popularity of the Instagram brand, and unless it comes up against any legal problems, could fool a whole lot of people. Doubly so when you add a Polaroid endorsement into the mix--the value of those two brand associations alone are transforming Socialmatic into a legitimate product.
The deal also includes accessories, like this carrying case (Click Image To Enlarge)
De Rosa was hesitant to comment on what’s changed since he struck his deal with C&A. When asked if the deal had affected the design, he answered a cryptic,
“Could be. It depends on some technical situations.”
One of those technical situations could be the Zero Ink printing technology, which would drive the cost up. But according to De Rosa, the release date is still too far out to make a guess on Socialmatic’s price tag. He said assuringly (a previous estimate was $350).
“It will be for everyone.”
It’s a deeply zany idea--after all, isn’t this thing doing what your iPhone could do, minus the printing?--but the response has been massively positive online. For Polaroid enthusiasts, it hints at nostalgia while maintaining a foothold in the digital world. At the same time, Instagram users seem to love the idea as a way to bolster their street cred as legit artists. For tech geeks, the thing has the ironic allure of an instant collectible, with a name that already sounds dated. In an odd way, it might be the perfect addition to the snapshot-crazed market.
COMMENTARY: Socialmatic™ is a brand new instant camera designed to fill the gap between the virtual and real world.
Socialmatic™ utilizes the Android™ operating system for sharing images through social networks, Instagram, email and MMS, and represents a revolution in the social digital photography.
With Socialmatic™ users can:
- Live the emotions;
- Take a shoot;
- Apply proprietary photo filters;
- Post it on Socialmatic™ Network and/or share on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or send by Email or MMS;
- Print it, add a comment, pull off the auto-adhesive strip and share it in the real world;
- Follow the photo in real and virtual world thanks its own QR Code;
The Socialmatic™ Family:
Socialmatic™ has plans to design a complete family of camera's with different features and storage capabilities for every budget:
Socialmatic™ Specifications:
- 4:3 size screen (not 4,3 Inches!)
- at least 16 GB of internal memory
- 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity
- SH-HDC slot for external mass storage
- GPS
- Internal Printer
- Optical Zoom
- Proprietary filters
- Android based OS
- Sharing option to share your photo on the most famous Social Network, by email or MMS;
- Exclusive Socialmatic Network Connectivity
Cost of Socialmatic™?
Not available yet, but will be affordable for everyone.
The Socialmatic camera may just be the shot in the arm that the digital camera market needs to be rejuvenated, after years of declining sales as the smartphone, equipped with built-in camera's, has replaced regulat digital camera's.
Having said this, I believe that there will be demand for the Socialmatic camera, but it will not be a game-changer, like the iPhone was to smartphones, or the iPod was to portable digital music players, but will appeal to a smaller group of photography enthusiasts who want the ability to produce instant hardcopy photos and the ability to share them with their friends through email, text messages and social networks.
How large the market for the Socialmatic camera will become will depend largely on the addition of apps to provide additional photographic functionality and improvements to the overall photographic experience. 3-D photography would be a huge plus. Price will also be a big determinant. I do wish Antonio de Rosa and Polaroid a lot of luck.
Courtesy of an article dated March 15, 2013 appearing in Fast Company Design
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