The Evangelist

Here's an interesting idea: a digital camera with a built-in printer.

That's exactly what the new TOMY xiao with ZINK printer is. The TIP-521 allows you to print pictures of photos taken with the camera in less than 60 seconds. You get a 2x3" print that you can easily share photos with a friend quickly and easily.

Unlike a Polaroid, however, the pictures are stored in digital form. It can take pictures just like any other 5 megapixel camera, so you are not limited to just the small prints produced by the device. It has 16MB of internal memory and supports SD (Secure Digital) and SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) cards. Just like a polaroid, it does not require ink, just the paper.

The device does seem on the expensive side when you add the expense of the special 2x3" paper. One has to be wary of proprietary formats, and it is almost certain that the paper will no longer be sold, even if the product itself still works.

Still, this seems like a pretty cool little gadget. For more information, you can visit http://www.zink.com/tomy-xiao.