The Instagram Socialmatic Camera Becomes a Reality... Instagram Just Got Real!

Remember Socialmatic from last year? The conceptual camera that combines the digital world of Instagram and the analog world of Polaroid? Well, it’s about to become a reality.

That’s because the rights to make and market products under the Polaroid brand have just been granted to Socialmatic LLC, the company founded by the person behind the concept, Antonio De Rosa.

Specifically, the Polaroid brand, which is owned by PLR IP Holdings and marketed by C & A, will be attached to the upcoming camera. So, it shall be known as the Polaroid Socialmatic Camera.

What's really cool are the features that bring the social part of Instagram to life. With its two lenses, one for main capture and another for 3D fliters, webcam applications and QR code-capturing, you can snap and edit pics the way you would using the Instagram app and then post them straight to Facebook,Twitter, and of course, Instagram. 

It will be equipped with Wi-Fi/3G connectivity and 16GB of onboard storage. It will also have a SC-HD slot for external storage.

Most interestingly, it will let you print out your photos right from the camera and share it IRL.

Release is planned for early 2014

Facebook acquires Instagram $1 Billion (£629million).

Big news have just dropped via Techcrunch, that online social networking giant Facebook has just acquired Instagram for $1 Billion (£629million).
Instagram was launched in October 2010 - initially just for the iPhone before being offered as an Android app last week.
It has proven hugely popular. The firm says that it has more than 30 million users uploading more than 5 million new pictures every day.
Let’s see what Facebook does with Instagram going forward. It looks like the photo sharing service will remain independent.

Mark Zuckerberg said this via his Facebook page:
 "We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience.
"We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook."

He added: "This is an important milestone for Facebook because it's the first time we've ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don't plan on doing many more of these, if any at all."

Mr Kedrosky said the speed of the deal was unusual.
"I'm told it also came together very quickly, like a lightning strike.
"After launching on Android last week and adding one million users a day, it became obvious that this wasn't just a photo sharing app - it was a competitive social network, and the concern may have been that there would be rival bids."

"That's the only reason to think Facebook would have done this in the quiet period ahead of its flotation."