Let’s admit it: We are a nostalgic bunch, hence the need for something we can hold, even in the age of digital multimedia. 

Some devices attempt to tap into that human sentimentality. Gadgets like the recently released Instax camera (which allows you to edit digitally before printing your photos) and Polaroid SnapTouch (which is a camera and printer in one) attempt to stay relevant by adding modern touches to the age-old concept of printed pictures — and I lapped these ideas up.

If you disagree and believe that Polaroids and Instax photos are a waste of time, you might as well stop reading now.

Introducing: the Prynt Pocket

The Prynt Pocket is basically a tiny printer you connect to your iPhone via Lightning port. What’s so special about this cute device is it can print your videos — well, photos that you can play as videos. More on that later. Before anything else, here’s a quick unboxing.

The Prynt Pocket comes in a clean white box with orange details. (Pencils and Instax not included.)

Our unit is in cute lavender. Other available colors are mint, black, and gray.

The front is where you plug in your iPhone. This device is compatible with the iPhone 5, 5s, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, SE, 7, 7 Plus, and in theory, the new iPhone 8 and 8 Plus since it’s a Lightning pin on a dock that adjusts to phone size.

On one side is the slot for the film cartridge plus an indicator light, shutter button, and zoom dial.

The other side is where the photo prints out and a micro-USB port for charging.

The box comes with a pack of 10 sticker paper, a micro-USB cable, the printing cartridge, and user guide. (Again, colored pencils not included, but admittedly cute with the color scheme.)

And now, on to actually using it!

How it works

Before anything else, you need to download the Prynt app which can be easily found on the App Store. I was able to set this up — which included loading the cartridge with paper and attaching the cartridge to the device — by following the Prynt app prompts (because who reads manuals anyway).

Take a photo or video of whatever subject you have — in this case, it was Marnie, the dog who was a great model. Good girl.

The Prynt app gives a slew of editing options. From borders, to text, to filters, and even memes — the app welcomes your boundless creativity.

Printing is simple enough. A tap of the print button gives us a Marnie sticker print out!

The best part, however, is what happens when you scan these photos using the Prynt app:

THE VIDEO WILL PLAY! If you did not get my excitement from that last sentence, let me tell you plain and simple: This thing is awesome and amazing! The whole process reminds me of those moving photos from Harry Potter’s Hogwarts!

Another cool feature is once you scan the photos and the video starts playing, a record button appears and you can immortalize the scan forever.

For good measure, I did a scan of Marnie’s Prynt photo with Marnie in the background and results were… well, the cutest I’ve seen in any of my tech reviews.

Imagine the possibilities!

You don’t even need the Prynt Pocket device to scan the photos. All you need is the app installed on your phone.

Is the Prynt Pocket your GadgetMatch?

Admittedly, printing a photo so you could scan it to make a video does sound a little weird at first.

A lot of things can be said about the Prynt Pocket. It’s amazing and amusing, but it’s also a little bulky to hold and with no real practical use with a damage of US$ 150.

But, that’s just the thing. It’s not meant to be practical, it’s meant to be fun and, oh, the fun you could have with this!

More importantly, the Prynt Pocket succeeds where most photo-printing devices have failed: They’ve created a camera that prints photos with a substantial value add to the physical product — one that’s appreciated in the digital sphere.

The Prynt Pocket is a lot of things. It’s a camera, printer, video maker, and even a scanner! Most importantly, though, it’s also Instagram-able.

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