LG to Reveal World's Smallest Pocket Printer at CES 2014

By Kevin Parrish
published

LG Electronics revealed on Monday that it plans to showcase its second-generation Pocket Photo "smart" mobile printer during CES 2014 next month. This latest model provides wireless connectivity with NFC and Bluetooth so that iOS and Android customers can print 2 x 3 inch images and notes from their mobile devices.

"Printed photos have a sentimental appeal that digital images are not truly able to replicate," said Byung-hoon Min, senior vice president of LG's Home Entertainment Company. "Our newest Pocket Photo embraces the emotional aspect of the printed photo while offering a level of portability and convenience that are missing from today's digital cameras."

The company boasts that its upcoming LG Pocket Photo 2.0 will be one of the smallest printing devices on the market. The printer will be 4 mm thinner than the first generation model, deliver more prints per charge, and will also print pictures at a "crystal clear" 313 dpi. To connect to the printer, users merely download the appropriate Pocket Photo app and connect wirelessly.

According to LG Electronics, the company has enhanced the Pocket Photo app's editing features, allowing users to experiment with an expanded range of customization options. For instance, there are a new set of filters and a "clever" frame augmentation feature. Users can even embed QR codes in photos.

"The Pocket Photo 2.0 uses the proven ZINK technology, eliminating the need for expensive ink cartridges, ribbons or toner. ZINK printing technology utilizes heat to activate the necessary color-forming chemistry imbedded in each sheet of paper," reads the company's announcement. "Compared to conventional printing processes, ZINK's inkless paper system preserves images for longer and produces less smearing. The Pocket Photo 2.0 can print 30 photos on a single charge."

The pocket printer is available now in China, and will be rolled out in pink, jewel white and lime yellow on a global scale sometime in 2014. Expect to see more of this printer during CES 2014 in a few weeks.

Kevin Parrish
14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • onover
    I'm just not sure that there's enough of a market for this product. 2x3 inch images are pretty small - smaller than most phone screens. That's a pretty small niche. And I presume the printer needs a specific paper to allow for ZINK? It would be significantly better if they could print slightly larger images.
    Reply
  • lp231
    It seem to go forward in technology, we have to go backwards?

    This pocket printer lets you print 2x3 images from your smart phone, which is nice and all, but now you'll have to carry two items in your pocket, this and your smart phone. As we go forward, shouldn't devices become more integrated into one another, not spread out all over the place?
    This is the problem with current laptops, while they are getting thinner and lighter, they removed the optical drive and some even lack the basic necessities like a ethernet port. This makes who ever needs one, have to buy a external drive, external ethernet adapter.
    I always thought that a laptop is suppose to be portable, the means easy to carry around without most of what you need in one nice package. Now with everything going external, this means instead of just carrying a laptop, you'll now have to carry a external optical drive and whatever external devices you might need, since that laptop doesn't have it built in. Doesn't that defeat the purpose being portable, when you have to carry all that extra stuff with you?
    While this printer idea is cool, but Polarid already has their instant camera which can do the same thing, take pics, and print 2x3 images with ZINK technology.
    http://www.polaroidstore.com/products/instant-cameras/10-megapixel-instant-print-digital-camera-z2300w-white.htm
    Reply
  • JOSHSKORN
    12313679 said:
    Why would I want to print a pocket? I might be more interested if it printed hot pockets...

    Whaddaya gonna print? Hot Pocket! Sorry, couldn't resist.

    Reply
  • laststop311
    Guessing the special paper is going to cost a fortune negating the savings of not using ink
    Reply
  • sunflier
    This is not new. Kodak already did this decades ago. Their Polaroid was a camera/printer all-in-one - no wireless needed.
    Reply
  • jojesa
    That would be good to setup a mobile shop in front of the passport office.
    Reply
  • Estix
    This reminds me of the old printer attachment for the Game Boy
    Reply
  • karmazyn
    12313007 said:
    It seem to go forward in technology, we have to go backwards?

    This pocket printer lets you print 2x3 images from your smart phone, which is nice and all, but now you'll have to carry two items in your pocket, this and your smart phone. As we go forward, shouldn't devices become more integrated into one another, not spread out all over the place?
    This is the problem with current laptops, while they are getting thinner and lighter, they removed the optical drive and some even lack the basic necessities like a ethernet port. This makes who ever needs one, have to buy a external drive, external ethernet adapter.
    I always thought that a laptop is suppose to be portable, the means easy to carry around without most of what you need in one nice package. Now with everything going external, this means instead of just carrying a laptop, you'll now have to carry a external optical drive and whatever external devices you might need, since that laptop doesn't have it built in. Doesn't that defeat the purpose being portable, when you have to carry all that extra stuff with you?
    While this printer idea is cool, but Polarid already has their instant camera which can do the same thing, take pics, and print 2x3 images with ZINK technology.
    http://www.polaroidstore.com/products/instant-cameras/10-megapixel-instant-print-digital-camera-z2300w-white.htm

    I don't think that innovation equals integration. There's no such thing as a perfect printer, phone or laptop. We all have different needs and thankfully the manufacturers make enough variations of their products to cater to most of us. Personally I don't think that most laptops need an optical drive or even an ethernet port. Most users install their system from a hidden partition set up by the manufacturer or a usb drive. We also get most of our media over the internet these days. I know I haven't used my DVD drive in more than a year. Also most users connect to their routers wirelessly. Now if you need a computer with any of the above options there's a ton of stuff to pick from. I'm just happy that laptops are getting more portable. As to the printer? I think it's better to have a separate device that you can connect to other phones and (hopefully in the future) cameras than to have what Polaroid offers, where you are stuck with one source of photos.
    Reply
  • FFH
    This seems like something polaroid should've invented. I like the convenience of digital, but I do love to tangible objects. I just hope that this isn't a loss leader; as in very expensive proprietary ink and paper.
    Reply
  • mynith
    Not as cool as the PrintStik.
    Reply