Polaroid® Unveils New Product Line-Up at CES
Polaroid Celebrates the Past & Future of Instant Photography with New Products and Classic Product Revivals
LAS VEGAS – 2010 International CES – (Virtual Press Office) – January 7, 2010 – PLR IP Holdings, LLC, owners of the Polaroid brand, today launched a new product line-up at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), including new instant digital products, the long-awaited return of classic Polaroid instant film and a modern version of the OneStep instant film camera, plus new flat panel televisions and more. Polaroid will demonstrate the new products at CES booth #13614, located in Central Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Additional in-booth activities will include an appearance by Lady Gaga, who was recently named creative director for a specialty line of Polaroid products, an exclusive exhibition of classic fine art photography from the famous Polaroid Collection, and live celebrity portrait sessions by renowned contemporary Polaroid photographer, Maurizio Galimberti.
“Everyone loves digital cameras, and we all love the spontaneity of instant prints. Polaroid is bringing its own brand of instant together with digital, with a strong dose of the fun, simplicity and value that Polaroid is known for,” said Scott W. Hardy, president of PLR IP Holdings, LLC. “Polaroid’s new lineup of instant digital cameras, classic instant film cameras, instant mobile printers, online photo sharing service, flat panel TV’s, and much more gives people everything they need to easily capture, create, print, share and enjoy their instant photos and digital images anyway they want.”
The Return of Polaroid Instant Classics
Supported by a strategic relationship with Summit Global Group, a longtime Polaroid partner, and The Impossible Project, the manufacturer of classic film for Polaroid film cameras, Polaroid will offer a completely redesigned, modern version of the Polaroid OneStep camera, the PIC 1000. The PIC 1000 will be available in a range of fun colors and use classic Polaroid Color 600 Instant Film to produce the brand’s classic white border instant pictures. The Polaroid Color 600 Instant Film will work with both classic and new Polaroid cameras and will be offered in packs of 10 pictures. The new classic PIC 1000 camera and instant color film will be available at national retailers in 2010.
Digital Instant Products
In partnership with ZINK Imaging, at CES, Polaroid also launched a suite of new digital printing products leveraging ZINK Imaging’s ZINK® Zero Ink® Printing Technology. ZINK Imaging’s revolutionary platform produces full-color images without ink cartridges, ribbons, or toner using ZINK Paper®, an advanced composite material with embedded dye crystals. This ink-free printing recreates the Polaroid instant photo experience from digital cameras or mobile devices using in-camera or outboard printers.
The newest addition to the Polaroid family of ZINK-enabled camera products is the Polaroid 3”x4” Instant Digital Camera, a 12 mega pixel digital camera with a built-in ZINK Printer that produces 3”x4” ZINK photos instantly. The Polaroid 3”x4” Instant Camera produces larger prints than the Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera, yet is still small enough to take on the go. It is also built on the next generation of the ZINK Technology which features several quality and performance improvements. With the Polaroid 3”x4” Instant Digital Camera, people can snap, print and share images immediately without having to connect to a computer. People can view and crop images on the camera before they print and select from a range of borders, from borderless to the classic Polaroid frame.
The Polaroid 3”x4” Instant Camera features a rechargeable battery, as well as a large LCD screen.
For those who want to print on the go, the Polaroid 3”x4” Instant Mobile Printer will allow people to do just that in under a minute. The ZINK-enabled mobile photo printer features lightweight, sleek designs for use at home, the office, at school or on the road. Polaroid ZINK-enabled digital photo printers, including the Polaroid PoGo 2”x3” Instant Mobile Printer and new Polaroid 3”x4” Instant Mobile Printer produce full-color photos printed directly from digital cameras via PictBridge, providing a convenient solution for sharing digital images instantly.
Polaroid Quality and Value in LCD and LED TVs
This year, Polaroid is introducing three new large-screen LCD TVs with crystal clear images and lifelike sound quality at affordable price points:
- Polaroid’s 42” FHD LCD TV with LED features super-thin design with LED backlight, integrated Blu-ray player full HD at 1080p, 120Hz refresh rate and very low power consumption.
- The 52” Polaroid FHD LCD TV with Blu-ray Combo features full HD at 1080p, an integrated Blu-ray player and 120Hz refresh rate.
- The 65” Polaroid FHD LCD TV will feature full HD at 1080p and a 120Hz refresh rate.
Polaroid Studio Opens Up New Ways to Enjoy Favorite Photos
Currently available, the Polaroid Studio (www.polaroidstudio.com) is the new photo and video sharing service that offers the most extensive features for creating unique, highly customizable online photo albums and keepsakes. The Polaroid Studio makes the digital photo experience easy and fun as people can securely upload and store their photos and videos online and share their instant memories in a way that captures their distinctive personality.
People can upload their memories via the web, downloadable software, email, and even their cell phones, with limitless personalization for creating customized online albums. In addition, the Polaroid Studio gives users limitless ways to share their memories by creating beautiful hard bound photo books, framed pictures, unique photo gifts and professional photo lab quality prints. Through a variety of easy-to-use tools such as customizable email invites, the Polaroid Studio helps people get the most out of their photo-sharing experience.
Exhibition of Classic Polaroid Photographs
To help celebrate the brand’s long history in imaging, Polaroid will hold an exclusive exhibition of classic Polaroid photographs, featuring selected works from The Polaroid Collection of Photography. The full Collection features more than 1,200 works by artists who used Polaroid cameras and film because of their unique aesthetic potential. CES attendees will have a chance to view selected works from the Collection by Ansel Adams, Andy Warhol, William Wegman and many others at Polaroid’s booth throughout the event. Sotheby’s will offer the full Collection at auction in June 2010.
In- booth Appearance by Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga was recently named creative director for a specialty line of Polaroid imaging products, and will make a special appearance at the Polaroid booth Thursday, January 7 at 10:45 a.m. to talk about her new creative and business relationship with the Polaroid brand.
Celebrity Portrait Sessions by Maurizio Galimberti
Attendees to the Polaroid booth will also be able to experience live portrait sessions by renowned contemporary fine art photographer Maurizio Galimberti. Galimberti is known for his compelling Polaroid mosaics, which he creates by assembling hundreds of instant photographs of the same subject into uniquely intriguing images. Galimberti will work with celebrities including Rohan Marley and Josie Maran on in-booth portrait sessions throughout the event. In addition to shooting and assembling portraits, Maurizio will photograph various people and locations in and around CES and incorporate them into original artworks in the Polaroid booth throughout the event.
“Apart from their broad appeal to amateurs all over the world, Polaroid images have such a unique personality of their own that fine artists like Maurizio Galimberti, Ansel Adams, Andy Warhol and others featured in the Polaroid Collection of Photography have made them a central part of their own work,” said Jon Pollock, CMO, PLR IP Holdings, LLC. “Polaroid is very proud of this legacy, and we’re working now to give people many more ways to express themselves and experience their world visually, with the fun, simplicity and value that the Polaroid brand stands for.”
Polaroid Supports the “HOPE IS A GAME-CHANGER PROJECT”
Polaroid is partnering this year with the HOPE IS A GAME-CHANGER PROJECT, an initiative founded by philanthropists Bobby Sager and Sting, that delivers indestructible soccer balls – and hope – to kids in some of the most difficult places around the world. The Polaroid booth at CES will feature a collection of powerful images by Sager, who is also an avid photographer, and whose recent book THE POWER OF THE INVISIBLE SUN features children from war-torn areas around the world who despite their circumstances share the undeniable undercurrent of resiliency and hope. Inspired by a child soldier and his beaten soccer ball featured in the book, Sager decided to launch the HOPE IS A GAME-CHANGER PROJECT with Sting (who had featured the same photographs worldwide during his 2008 Police reunion tour and renowned song Invisible Sun) using all of his proceeds.
“The HOPE IS A GAME-CHANGER PROJECT is on an incredible mission and already has connected people all over the world in a truly impactful way,” said Jamie Salter, co-CEO, PLR IP Holdings, LLC. “Polaroid is proud to partner with Sting and Bobby Sager and will continue to invest in their efforts to increase awareness about this inspirational project.”
ABOUT POLAROID
Across several generations, people regard Polaroid® as one of the most trusted, well-respected and recognizable names when it comes to instant photography. Polaroid began more than 70 years ago with polarized sunglasses, evolved into instant film, camera and camera accessories, and in recent years has expanded well beyond into flat panel televisions, portable DVD players, digital photo frames, digital HD camcorders, waterproof digital cameras and more. People can expect to see new products from Polaroid that will deliver the fun, instant gratification and value that the brand has long stood for. Polaroid is registered trademark of PLR IP Holdings, LLC. For more information, visit www.polaroid.com.
Related Content:
All Polaroid User Reviews
Film Photography News & Articles
2010 CES Tradeshow News & Articles
Digital Cameras Forum
Polaroid Web Site
Wow – this is a big deal. Or is it? To be honest, I’m not sure. It looks like a classic Polaroid One Step. But will the art photographers love it? Can you scribe on the film? Does it develop slowly like the old Polaroid film or does it come out of the camera already devleoped? I think the success of this camera depends on the artistic applications. If you can’t manipulate the prints, then it might appeal to hipsters who just want a Polaroid as a fashion accessory. But for the real artists, the Polaroid was always about the low tech look and the ability to scribe and otherwise manipulate of the prints. Does anyone know more? Did anyone see this in person at CES? I’d like to know more.
I’ve been hearing about and seeing various stories regarding the re-introduction of Instant Photography since Spring 2009.
Fujifilm even introduced a new camera and film this past year. http://www.photographyreview.com/reviews/blog/fujifilm-instax-mini-7s-instant-camera/
There’s a market among a certain age group in the European market and club scene, thus the naming of Lady GaGa as the ‘Creative Director’ . . .
It could be hype, but there is lots of money and P.R. time being spent on this product/concept.