Though the naming of pop star Lady Gaga as creative director of Polaroid in early 2010 was met with some skepticism, by CES 2011, Gaga and company were ready to announce the fruits of their collaboration: the Grey Label line of products co-designed by Polaroid and Lady Gaga herself, including the GL30 “instant” digital camera, the GL20 camera sunglasses, and the GL10 instant mobile photo printer.
Just over four months later, the company has announced that the first of these products began selling today at Bloomingdale’s flagship store on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. With a suggested retail price of $169.99, the Bluetooth-enabled printer uses Polaroid’s Zink print technology (like the company’s PoGo printer and camera line) to instantly print photos sent from cell phones or other Bluetooth-compatible devices. Relatively portable at just 15 ounces, the GL10 can print 3×5-inch full-bleed snapshots, or a photo with a white “Polaroid Classic Border.” The Zink GL10 photo paper is a bit larger than the PoGo’s 2×3-inch peel-and-stick paper, but is similarly steep in price at $19.99 for 30 sheets (PoGo paper sells for $12.99 per 30-sheet pack). Though initially available at only the flagship Bloomingdale’s location, the product will roll out to other select locations nationwide in late June. Pre-orders for the GL10 are being taken on Polaroid.com now and will be available on hsn.com tomorrow (with the product beginning to ship June 17), and Costco.com will begin selling the printer on June 20.
