The two major new products Polaroid showed off at CES this week couldn't have been more different. On the one hand, the Polaroid Socialmatic, a half-digital, half-instant camera with powerful technology but a sadly compromised physical design that wasn't half so cute as the product deserved. But Polaroid's other product, the C3, a button cute little photographic cube that we dare say even Edwin Land would have loved.
A rainbow-striped hexahedron with rounded corners, the C3, like the Socialmatic, looks something like an iOS app icon come to life. Only 35mm square, the ultra-portable camera is meant for on-the-go photography, like the GoPro, hence the wide-angle lens that can capture 120 degrees of action, the waterproofing up to two meters, and the built-in mic. Just press the button on top to take a five-megapixel photo or 720p video. Unfortunately, though, the C3 doesn't feature Wi-Fi (bummer), so you'll need to transfer photos and videos over Micro SD media cards.
From a design perspective, it's hard not to fall in love with the C3. We love how the designers have channeled the colors of the Polaroid rainbow to adorn a tiny candy cube. Available in black, blue and red, the C3 looks like the kind of camera Rainbow Brite would use, and the suggested retail price--$99--isn't imposing either.
Unfortunately, like the Socialmatic, the only thing about the C3 that Polaroid was showing off was the empty shell of one, so there's no telling how good the footage that comes out of this thing will be when it goes on sale in the summer.