Consumer Electronics Show: Lady Gaga’s new Polaroid printer, camera and glasses
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Lady Gaga descended on the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for the second year in a row as the creative director of Polaroid. But this year, Gaga showed off products she helped design that are headed for retail this year.
The Gaga lineup is branded Polaroid Grey Label by Haus of Gaga and is made up of a mobile printer, dubbed the Polaprinter GL10, an aluminum rimmed instant-camera and a pair of sunglasses with a camera and two OLED screens behind the lenses.
The reveal of the three items came with applause and a few yelps from a crowd of a couple of thousand standing around Polaroid’s booth -- a bit of a rarity at CES, where most media members don’t clap much. Then again, Gaga is a rock star and not an average consumer electronics executive.
The sunglasses, called the Polarez GL20, and the camera, known as the Polaroid GL30, are prototypes, Gaga said, but both will arrive in stores around holiday season 2011. No prices have been set for the glasses or the camera.
The Polaprinter GL10, however, is a retail-ready product and will hit stores in May for $149.99, said Katie Linendoll, a Polaroid spokeswoman.
Gaga said the glasses were inspired by a pair of specs she made from iPod screens for a concert. The two 1.7-inch OLED screens in the glasses sit below a user’s eyes and facing outward, so the image can be seen through the glasses but not by the wearer.
The earpieces on the glasses house a USB drive where images taken by a small camera sitting on the glasses’ nosepiece are saved.
The GL30 camera has a screen on it so pictures can be viewed before being printed, a feature not found on the Polaroids of the past, as well as the ability to connect to any other picture-taking device via Bluetooth to print photos from other gadgets.
The ability to share photos from a smart phone or tablet, via Bluetooth, is a feature that’s also making its way to the mobile printer.
Sharing a photo with the GL10 printer, and printing it using ink-free technology, takes about 40 seconds. The printer will also be able to connect to other cameras and computers by way of USB.
When the GL10 ships, an Android app will be available that can sync phones to the printer and add borders and filter images before printing.
Polaroid printer apps for the Apple iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows Phone handsets will arrive later this year, Linendoll said.
The GL30 camera, too, will use mobile apps to modify photos it snaps, but those apps may or may not be the same as the apps for the printer, she said, adding that the same popular smart phone platforms will be supported.
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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles
Top photo: Lady Gaga sends a photo from her BlackBerry smart phone to the Polaroid Polaprinter GL10 she helped design, held by Polaroid Chairman Bobby Sager, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Credit: Nathan Olivarez-Giles / Los Angeles Times.
Middle image: Polaroid Grey Label printer, left, sunglasses and camera from Haus of Gaga. Credit: Polaroid
Lady Gaga draws a larger crowd at the Polaroid booth. Credit: David Becker/Getty Images