Last August, we reported that the Instagram Socialmatic camera concept – an Android-based, Wi-Fi- and 3G-enabled digital camera that lets you share the photos online or print them out instantly – was close to becoming a reality, with a prototype to launch at the end of 2012 and production units to roll out as early as mid-2013. Well, we aren’t quite there, yet, but ADR Studio, the design group behind the project, has announced that it has found a manufacturing partner, and that the product’s name will be branded as the Polaroid Socialmatic Camera. That’s right, the Polaroid, the company that inspired the Instagram movement to begin with – analog begets digital begets analog, you can say. The camera is now scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2014, if the deal gets finalized.
Here’s how the deal works. Socialmatic signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with C & A Marketing, which will produce, distribute, and market the camera under the Polaroid name through a licensing agreement with PLR IP Holdings, LLC. (As you probably know, Polaroid is now an IP company that no longer makes anything.) Besides cameras, products will include bags, lenses, filters, and other accessories. C & A already manufactures cameras with the Polaroid name, including the Z2300W digital instant camera.
The actual product specs may change from the original concept, but the photo released shows that one of the two designs will reflect the Instagram logo (although that’s also subject to change). Socialmatic said more details will come in the following months. As for Instagram? While the camera can upload photos to the social networking site, the name was never official to begin with.
(Images via Socialmatic)