CES 2011: grey label by lady gaga + polaroid

the ‘gl20 camera glasses’, one of the three ‘grey label’ products polaroid has released in collaboration with lady gaga image courtesy of fastcompany

while last year’s CES saw the announcement by polaroid of performance artist lady gaga as its new creative director, it was only at CES 2011 that the results of the collaboration were unveiled. the company’s ‘grey label’ line includes camera glasses, a digital polaroid camera, and an instant mobile printer, all designed to bring digital technology to the instant and physical appeal of polaroid photography.the ‘gl20 camera glasses’ actualize an idea that lady gaga explored in the music video for her song ‘fame’. users can capture or upload photographs and video directly to the sunglasses, and display them in realtime on the outside of the 1.5-inch LCD screens. the earpieces double as a USB port.

the ‘gl30 instant digital camera’ image via gizmocrave

the ‘gl30 instant digital camera’ combines a digital camera with the instant photo printing of polaroid. images are recorded digitally, and then selected as desired for instant photo printing directly through the device. the camera can stand vertically to permit easy scrolling and display of captured images.

the ‘gl30’ camera can stand vertically to scroll through or display its digitally captured images image courtesy of fastcompany

the final product, the ‘gl10 instant mobile printer’ is a lightweight, portable printer engineered to easily interface with the ‘gl30’ and other image-taking devices to permit the immediate, on-the-go printing of photographs. all of the ‘grey label’ products are bluetooth enabled, so images can be sent directly to the ‘gl10’ printer or to and from any bluetooth device (except at present the iPhone).  the ‘gl10’ printer can also be connected by cord to any compatible digital camera, including dSLRs, or via USB to computers.

the ‘gl10 instant mobile printer’

both the new polaroid camera and mobile printer utilize ZINK (‘zero ink’) technology. the photo paper is embedded with dye crystals that are activated during printing by heat. the process requires no ink or inkjet cartridges, and the resulting images are tear-resistant, smudge-proof, and water-resistant. each paper cartridge permits ten prints, and the printer prints 40 photos on a single charge. each 3×4-inch photograph prints wtihin 40 seconds, and can be selected to mimic the traditional polaroid border or be a full bleed image.

lady gaga models the ‘gl20 camera glasses’ at CES2011

recording of the live press release

polaroid has already developed an android application that permits the editing and application of borders and designs to captured images, and the company plans to release similar apps for windows, blackberry phones, and iPhones by the time the ‘grey label’ products become available in may. the company is also working on technology that will permit the automatic uploading of polaroid photographs to facebook and other social media platforms.