Gadget of the Week: Dell's Wasabi Photo Printer

WHAT: Dell Wasabi Photo Printer

COMPARE TO: Polaroid PoGo

PRICE:$149

FUN FACT: Although only limited to 2"x3" sheets of paper, ZINK has larger sizes on the way, so you can expect larger, instant photo printers in the future.

WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING IT: When Polaroid ceased producing the instantly developing cameras that came to be synonymous with the company's name, a collective "WTF" was heard throughout the tech-world. We all have a memory or two involving or captured by a Polaroid camera. It's true digital cameras and camera phones with the ability to instantly send photo's to friends and family via the internet kinda swerved into Polaroid's lane, but there was something awesome about the instant gratification that came along with Polaroid cameras. With summer now in full swing and our weekend beach trips leaving us with moments deserving of a hard copy, we tried out to the Dell Wasabi portable photo printer to see if we could get that old thing back...

ANALYSIS

SIZE DOES MATTER
In order for any device to replace the Polaroid, it would have to be extremely portable. Or, at least as portable as the Polaroid cameras were in their time. The Dell Wasabi accomplishes that with a footprint measuring about an inch thick and a little under five inches long. It's too big to squeeze into your pocket (unless you're wearing Girbuad jeans), but it's small enough not to take up any room in your backpack, weekend bag or girlfriends pocketbook. And since it weighs in at just under half a pound with the rechargeable battery installed, you'll never notice it's there.

NO INK, NO PROBLEM
The genius in the Wasabi lies in its no ink technology. Developed by a Massachusetts based company called ZINK (Zero + Ink), the paper has an advanced composite material with cyan, yellow and magenta dye crystals embedded within it. Before printing the crystals are colorless, giving off a white appearance. But once it gets going, the paper is heated and the crystals are activated forming whatever color you need—no need for the iconic Polaroid shake. This technology is the reason why the device can be so small in the first place. Not only that, but the 2" x 3" paper has an adhesive back so you can print a photo and instantly turn it into a sticker.

WIRE OR WIRELESS, YOUR CHOICE
You can connect to the Wasabi either two ways: through a USB connection or wirelessly via Bluetooth 2.0. We must note that for whatever reason the iPhone can't connect to the Wasabi via Bluetooth. But we've found a number of other phones that do. When using USB, simply connect your camera with PictBridge (if you bought your camera in the past 2-3 years, it probably has PictBridge) to the Wasabi, pick which photo you want to print, wait one minute and you'll have your photo. We wish the images were a little more crisp and bright seeing as how they get compressed into 2"x3" images, but nothing beats instant photo printing.