Polaroid goes back to its roots

Polaroid launched a new digital camera that prints images immediately from a tiny internal printer, in an effort to try and keep the company relevant in a big, bad digital world.

Polaroid’s new PoGo Instant Digital Camera is 4.7" x 3" and is 1.3 inches deep, weighing in at 10 ounces.  Even though the 7-megapixel is a bit bulkier than other digital cameras, the ability to print images instantly may make it worth it for some consumers.

The camera has a 3-inch LCD with simple controls, and has 4x digital zoom with no optical zoom.

The PoGo prints images on a special type of paper using heat-activated dye crystals printed by a Zink ink-free printing technology.

The Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera will be available for $199 in March.  Owners can purchase a 10-pack of the Zink photo paper for $4.99 per pack.  According to reports from Las Vegas, where the camera was unveiled, print quality is average, and certainly isn’t nothing to write home about.

Polaroid is best known for creating a camera able to print the photo instantly at a time when digital cameras were still too expensive for the average consumer.  The iconic instant film camera was retired last year, and it was unknown if Polaroid planned to enter the digital age.