In July we wrote about how LG's Pocket Photo Smart Mobile Printer was going to be available in Malaysia at the end of July. And it's arrived!

"Printed photos offer a certain appeal and pleasure that digital images simply can't provide," said HK Kwon, Managing Director, LG Electronics (M) Sdn. Bhd. "Whether you want to keep a photo in your wallet or add it to a personal scrapbook or diary, prints from LG's smart mobile printer enable users to enjoy images taken on their smartphone simply and effortlessly."

LG was kind enough to give us a unit to play with, so here's our first-hand review.

After charging up its battery, we got down to using it. Unfortunately our initial efforts were futile. The manual was in Chinese (yes! we actually read manuals!), but the product looked straightforward enough to wing it.



Power on. We failed to turn the device on, even after hitting the power button like 12 times. This was ultimately embarrassing given the fact that we're techies. But as all monkeys figure how to work things out eventually, so did we: The power button needed to be held down long enough for a light to come on to indicate that the device was finally alive. Duh. Remember this when you've made your purchase.

Using Samsung Galaxy S3's NFC, Samsung Note's Bluetooth, and an iPhone 4S Bluetooth, we were quickly and easily connected to the LG Pocket Photo.

Now to print those photos!

The app itself is easy to use:

1. Download the free app for Android or iPhone.



2. Turn on your device's NFC or Bluetooth and connect to LG's Pocket Photo Printer.

3. Open the app and select an image you'd like to print.



4. Choose a layout for your photo, as how you would like it printed.



5. You have an option of adding some text to your photo, or leave it blank if you don't want any words on it.



6. You can also attach a QR Code packed with information about your photo, if you want. We didn't add one for this image.



7. If you love filters, there's a bunch from which you can select from. We tried this a few times, but the photos didn't turn out the way it looked on the phones. The images seem just a tad faded, not as vibrant as they looked on our phones - but still, not bad for a pocket photo printer.



8. You can also split the photo into a few frames, and add decorative frames from the app's ready-selection of decorative frames.



9. Save and print!




Printing...

10. Voila!


We only added some text to this photo.


This image contained both text and QR code.

We noticed that the photos we printed tend to curl a little, but you can always flatten them out.


The Polaroid proportions weren't exactly Polaroid-ideal. How unfortunate.

Our overall verdict is that for RM399, this little pocket photo printer makes a great tool for get-togethers and occasions. You can print customized invitations, thank you cards, or use it simply for sheer entertainment (think weddings and birthdays, how fun!). And if you run out of film, you can get refills at RM49.90 for 3 packs of 10 films each.

The pocket printer is easy to use and really quite light, so lugging it around isn't a problem - unless you're a dude who wears tight pants; you'd just have to hand-carry it.

We do, however, wish it was equipped with a few more editing options, such as adding stickers (hearts, stars, etc) or scribbling ability, even though that can be done separately (just a hassle because it requires extra steps and different apps).


We had plenty of fun printing these...


An original photo from a Samsung Galaxy S3, and its print result.


If you look close enough, you'll notice that it has hearts all over it. Cute.