Whoever wrote the instructions for Polaroid's PoGo instant mobile printer was clearly well versed in their Ikea exams. Eschewing the need for luxuries such as words, instead we get a hieroglyphic set of instructions that get to the guts of setting the little printer up in a short space of time.

And for half an hour at least, you'll wonder why nobody has done this before. Once you've charged up the battery, the printer is ready to work wirelessly and without an AC connection (and can print over a dozen snaps before it needs recharging). That's not a sentence we can remember writing out before.

Furthermore, the PoGo isn't really designed with a PC in mind. Instead, you can connect a digital camera to the box via the port mounted on the side of the device, or you can use Bluetooth to transmit pictures directly to the unit.

The latter is a genius move. We activated Bluetooth on our mobile and it quickly picked up the PoGo. From there we sent a picture to it, and in a matter of a few seconds a print was being quietly and quickly spat out of the side of the unit (we needed to enter a PIN code, but this was all as seamless as you'd hope).

Marvellous, we thought. The print wasn't cutting edge quality (we'd call the output quite average), but let's have some context here: this is a £25 printer that uses no ink and delivers 3 x 2-inch output. The snaps aren't ever going to be framed and put on your mantelpiece, but they're really not bad for what they are.

The printer comes with a pack of ten sheets of photo paper, which is a cinch to load in. But that's where the hidden cost arrives, too. To refill the unit you'll need to buy more sheets of paper, although to be fair to Polaroid, it's hardly going to break the bank. We found a 70-pack of refill paper - and remember, you don't need to change any ink cartridges - for under £10. That's really quite hard to grumble with, and far less of a gotcha than we were expecting.

The fundamental problem with the PoGo, though, is that it's hard to think of too many occasions where a 3 x 2-inch print will come in useful. Granted, to output the content from your phone it's great, and the convenience of such a small, wireless and low maintenance device is hard to overstate. However, an old fashioned inkjet is likely to be the better long-term option.

Nonetheless, with a low hardware cost the PoGo certainly has its place in the world. It's hardly vital, but it could well be useful. And we wonder if the same technology could be extended to a more sizeable unit in the future.

Verdict
A promising device, albeit a bit of novelty at this stage. That is unless you have an overriding urge for 3 x 2-inch prints.

Company: Polaroid

Tags: printer bluetooth polaroid corporation ikea paper lady gaga hardware printing