Vlad Savov, writing in The Verge, highlights the plight of the Kodak and Polaroid brand names in his report on the IFA exhibition in Berlin. He found some rather uninspiring Windows laptops with a sparse spec bearing the brand name of Polaroid. It is evidence of a depressing trend. Read his full comments here
I am not sure that I agree with either of your assertions here Mike.
As I understand things, Polaroid went into receivership and the name was bought in 2017 by the chaps behind the "Impossible project" which since 2008 has been dedicated to keeping Polaroid instant film going. Initially they gained access to an old Polaroid film factory and apparently did a bit of reverse engineering in order to rebirth Polaroid film, along with restoring/repairing and using old Polaroid cameras. They have just re-introduced one of the most popular Polaroid cameras.
https://magazine.polaroidoriginals.com/an-open-letter-from-our-ceo/?shop_url=https%3A%2F%2Fus.polaroidoriginals.com&cart_count=0
As for Kodak, the company that was hoist by it’s own petard, they were the kind of company that I have real problems with until they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. They wanted to control everything and shut any competition out, including digital tech. They were severely punished.
However, they had made commitments to their workforce regarding pensions, unlike Mr. Maxwell they managed to create a spin off, that would cover this arrangement. Little did they realise that film would coincidentally have a little renaissance and Kodak Alaris has effectively resurrected the original core business of that illustrious company, thus creating a niche, without being a threat to the growth of digital photography.
As for the monikers, I suspect that sometime in the future, these phoenix companies will try to stop them being taken in vain by the vulture capitalists.
Sorry Mike, I realise these are not your assertions, I forgot to edit that bit before slapping the "post" button.
No problem, Stephen. It’s good to have a bit of a contrary view. I admit I didn’t know all the background but though Savov made some good points.
There might have been a chance for Polaroid to come back on the coat tails of the success of the Fujifilm Instax range with an ‘original and best’ line. Even Leica got in on the act with a ‘pimped up’ version of the Fuji. There are Polaroid cameras and film around, but they (whoever ‘they’ may be) may have left it too late. I would like to see them succeed, perhaps via some residual ‘folk memory’.
I still use Kodak Portra film. I am not sure how the production chain works, but the film works splendidly.
As for the ‘tacky’ laptop, I am not sure what market it is aimed at. It is certainly not tech journalists who tend to live in their own tech bubble. They should never forget, however, that what is most up to date today is most out of date tomorrow.
William