SINGAPORE — Instant photos were all the rage in the Polaroid days of the 1960s and 1970s. But Polaroid film does not come cheap and requires that you lug around a special camera.

Now, as more people rely on their smartphones as their default camera, LG has launched a product that will let Android phone users print instant photos on the go.

The Pocket Photo printer — measuring 72.4mm x 120.9mm x 24mm — is capable of printing Polaroid-like photos from an Android smartphone (running on version 2.2 and above) onto special photo paper.

Using the device is simple: Just download the Pocket Photo app, take a picture with your phone, connect to the printer wirelessly via NFC or Bluetooth and the photo will be printed in 45 seconds.

Pocket Photo also handles some basic photo-editing and generates QR codes.

And Pocket Photo not only runs on batteries, it prints pictures without ink with the use of Zero Ink (Zink) paper technology.

The paper has a layer of dye crystals that change colour according to heat generated by the device.

The resulting photo is ever-so-slightly warm and, best of all, it does not smudge when you touch the photo right after it is printed because no ink was used.

The LG Pocket Photo perfectly complements the smartphone shutterbug and I highly recommend it to those who are looking for more than just a digital copy of their smartphone photos or those who just want to relive the days of Neoprint.

The LG Pocket Photo costs S$249 and the Zink Media Photo Paper costs S$18 for a pouch of 30 sheets. They are available at all StarHub retail outlets.