Click-n-Stick

ON a recent trip to Vietnam, during a boat trip to Halong Bay, my Japanese co-passenger taught us some cool tricks with figures. We couldn’t understand each other — he spoke no English (or Hindi, for that matter) and we spoke no Japanese. Yet, he looked at the camera we had, pointed to it, then to himself, saying, ‘Japanese.’ As we laughed at the mathematical tricks he was demonstrating, he pulled out a camera, and instantly captured our delighted faces. It was a Polaroid, ironically an American product, that is fighting to survive in the tough and rapidly developing (if you’ll excuse the inadvertent pun) camera market. Thanks to Polaroid, within minutes we had pictures of ourselves with the Japanese gentleman that we’d never forget.

Although expensive, Polaroid creates unique products. And its new cameras, the I-Zone Instant Camera with FM radio plus the I-Zone Fortune Film, are soon going to be big hits across the world. Don’t think I am biased by the FM radio that the cool-looking teal and yellow camera incorporates — although, for me, as a radio professional, that does have an obvious appeal. Fact is that the two-in-one point and shoot camera, with a super carry case and belt clip, has tremendous appeal for youngsters. Besides, the I-Zone creates pictures as photo stickers that can be stuck on to return gifts for birthdays, on letters, used as book labels. Just shoot and stick! Given the current craze with stickers among school kids, can you imagine the immediate success that customised stickers can have? At roughly the equivalent of Rs 1,500, it’s a steal.

The I-Zone Fortune Film has an appeal for slightly older kids. When the film is pulled out of the camera, a joke, your fortune or a message appears. This begins to vanish as the picture develops. Once the photograph is ready, the message/ joke/ fortune disappears completely. These pictures too have a peel-off back that lets you stick the picture wherever you want.

The point is that innovation for a variety of markets can sometimes lead to the creation of truly unexpected but useful products. The I-Zone is just one example. And my Japanese fellow passenger needn’t fret for too long. A lot of Japanese companies have begun to manufacture similar cameras and film, with minor differences. And although I am not certain, they could be way cheaper.

(The author is Station Director, Radio City, 91 FM, Bangalore)