It’s a no-brainer. Kids see us clicking photos and I’m sure they feel like doing it too… but let’s be honest, not everyone is comfortable with giving children smartphones. They’re addictive, expensive, and breakable. Besides, try taking your smartphone back and dealing with a crying kid… nobody’s got time for that. Here’s a solution, though – Polaroids for kids. The Children’s Print Camera (the name needs some workshopping) is a nifty low-tech device that allows kids to click pictures. Working pretty much just like a standard instant camera, this one comes with an easier UI and a simple thermal printer that churns out low-cost black-and-white photos of everything kids click. It’s easy to use, entertaining, effective… and the best part, not as addictive and developmentally disabling as giving a kid a smartphone or iPad.
Designer: Koool Design
The device’s design is somewhat of a masterclass in creating kid-friendly products. It’s instantly playful-looking, with its vibrant color scheme and liberal use of rounded edges to look fun and bubbly. The camera’s big, making it resistant to drops and flings, as opposed to sleek and breakable. It looks and feels more like a toy, which works extremely well for its demographic.
The camera’s second most important detail is its simplified UI that doesn’t compromise on features. It comes with a shutter button and a flash, with dedicated buttons placed exactly where you’d expect them to be. There’s no text, but the iconography is fairly indicative, allowing kids to understand how to operate the camera in just mere minutes. Click a photo, and a printer inside the camera prints the image out on a roll of thermal paper. There aren’t any fancy ink cartridges or special photochromic films that end up adding to the camera’s cost. The photo prints out, and a serrated plastic edge allows kids to tear the finished print out of its roll once it’s been ‘developed’.
This isn’t the first child-centric camera we’ve seen, though… the myFirst Insta Wi from 2021 claims the title of being the first low-tech children’s instant camera we’ve seen. It did have its own app and smart features, but lacked a flash.
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