Geekscape Tech Review: LifePrint Photo and Video Printer
I first saw the LifePrint Photo and Video Printer when I was at CES 2016 last January in Las Vegas, and I thought it was hands-down the coolest thing that was at the show. By the way, I am hoping that I can go in the next few months for CES 2017, but that is another story.
Before I talk about the LifePrint Photo and Video Printer, I felt it was just much better to link to this promo video from Lifeprint instead. LifePrint began as a crowdfunded project, but it has become a way to make the printed photo relevant again.
In case you are one of the rare ones who would rather read text than watch a video, here is what the LifePrint can do. It uses the power of augmented reality in order to turn an ordinary photo into a video.
It is pretty simple to make this work, as the LifePrint App (for Apple and will soon be available on Android) collects all photos and videos from the camera, and this includes anything on Apple Live Photos, Snapchat, Vine, Instagram, Facebook, GoPro, and Twitter.
Once you have chosen your video, you can essentially create your “cover”. This is the one still image that will serve as your photo for your augmented reality video. If you want to, you can even touch up the photo using the editing tools on the application.
From there, you can print your photo on the LifePrint printer, and then view it through LifePrint’s viewer. Your still shot will be still no longer, and your memory from that photo will spring to life, as a video!
This is something that you just have to see in order to believe. Lifeprint has made a comparison to Harry Potter, and if you remember seeing the moving picture newspaper headlines from any one of those movies, the comparison is pretty honest. Of course, Harry and his wizard friends didn’t need a smartphone or tablet to make this magic work.
Now, here is the interesting part: you can print your cover photo from other LifePrint Photo and Video printers around the world, provided they are on your network. This I didn’t get a chance to try out, as I don’t know anyone who has one of these yet. I have hunch that will change as LifePrint has the potential to be next thing in social networking.
The LifePrint Audio and Video printer is quite small at 5 x 3 x 1 inches, and can print 10-15 photos (2 x 3 inches) per charge. It takes 1 hour for a full charge, and has a 30 second printing time.
It is interesting that LifePrint realized in advance that people will use LifePrint for turning possibly non-X-rated photos into X-rated videos. It says on their site that their printer is straight up sexy, but that is not what they mean. Let’s hope that this doesn’t become an issue, as people already talk about sexting so much that it’s a big hot button issue.
The LifePrint Photo and Video Printer can be purchased for $129.95 on the Lifeprint site, and it requires some special photo paper to work (with a 110 pack costing $49.95). While I’m talking about the other accessories, I should bring up the other specs.
Also, do you want to hear more about the latest in technology? In early January, there is a big event in Las Vegas known as CES (Consumer Electronics Show). I want to go and report on it, but I need some help. I have a new GoFundMe site that will “Send Mark (me) to CES 2017”. Please click here and make a donation.
