added recent posts

5 files changed, 176 insertions, 2 deletions

diff --git a/fall-pitches.txt b/fall-pitches.txt
index 28a301f..75abae4 100644
--- a/fall-pitches.txt
+++ b/fall-pitches.txt
@@ -21,5 +21,3 @@ Everything You Need to Turn Your Kitchen into a Cafe
 Engineer the ultimate night's sleep
 Low cost ways to keep your kid entertained on long car trips
 Pro Photo/Video on the Go
-
-
diff --git a/google-nest-mini.txt b/google-nest-mini.txt
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+++ b/google-nest-mini.txt
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+Earlier this year, Google re-branded all its Home devices under the Nest name. What was once the Google Home Mini is now the Google Nest Mini and it's been updated for 2019.
+
+The Nest Mini is a step up over its predecessor, particularly when it comes to sound. The lows and mid-range tones are much clearer, with a level of separation in frequencies that didn't exist in in the Home Mini. I found this greatly improved with music, though in many cases podcasts still sounded muddy and washed out.
+
+Frankly, given the sound quality of the old Home Mini, there was nowhere to go but up. And I should caution that the Nest Mini still isn't a great speaker, but it sounds good enough to be useable as a speaker, which more than you could really say for the Home Mini. Given the entry level price of $49, it's a great way to see if the smart home is for you, or as a cheap way to extend your smart home into new rooms.
+
+###
+
+Outwardly the Nest Mini is very similar to the Home Mini. Google has changed fabric material to a fabric made recycled materials, but it looks and feels nearly the same. The Micro USB plug is gone, instead you get a round plug. It's not a big change, but it does mean that mean that any Home Mini accessories that used Micro USB plugs won't work with the Nest Mini.
+
+The big one here are wall mounts, but you won't need those anyway because the Nest Mini has a little notch for wall mounting built right into the back of it. And I highly recommend taking advantage of it. The re-designed sound system really shines when you mount the Nest Mini on the wall. Using the wall for added resonance, the Nest Mini is able to somewhat transcend its size and provide decent sounding music. It also makes any voice responses to your commands sound clearer.
+
+When Google announced the Nest Mini to touted an ability to adjust its sound to the room, tuning itself as more expensive speakers like the Sonos One ([8/10 WIRED Recommends](https://www.wired.com/story/review-sonos-one/)) do. If it did this, it was subtle enough that I never noticed it. Again, the biggest sound improvement in my experience is going to hanging it on the wall.
+
+There's a new sensor under the fabric cover that detects when you're reaching for the Mini. It lights up the volume control buttons on the side of the speaker when it detects your hand nearby. When this works it's great, but this, more than any other feature on the Nest Mini, was inconsistent. 
+
+Interacting with the Nest Mini is the same as it is for all of Google's smart speaker devices. You say "Hey Google" or "Ok Google" and the LEDs in the middle to Nest Mini light up to let you know it's listening to you. This time around Google has added a third microphone, which makes the Nest Mini better at picking up your commands. I tested this along side the previous model in large room and it was indeed much better not just at picking up my voice, but hearing it accurately.
+
+The other big new feature in this update is a dedicated machine learning chip. This allows the Mini to learn your voice better, and speeds up the response time since in many cases it will be processed locally rather than sent to Google's servers. You'll still need a Wi-Fi connection, and all of your voice recordings are still sent to Google. In my testing it was impossible to tell when things were processes locally, if they ever were, but there's a potential speed boast there, especially down the road. 
+
+One thing Google has not made a lot of noise about is the ability to pair two Nest Mini's for a stereo setup. I only had one, so I could not test it, but Google has [long offered this](https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/7559493?hl=en) on the more expensive Google Home Max speakers. Theoretically you could pair a left and right Nest Mini, and turn the two into a possibly not bad sound setup.
+
+Other new tricks for the Nest Mini include the ability to turn into an intercom broadcasting to other Google speakers throughout your house, support for calls through Google Duo, and it can become an alarm through Google's Nest Aware subscription plan. 
+
+One of the nice things about Google's smart home devices is that they last. Google's updates are iterative and rarely revolutionary. To that end, if you already have a Google Home Mini, there's nothing here that screams upgrade now. By the same token, when the next Nest Mini arrives this one will likely continue working just fine. Because most of what you want out Google's device is Google Assistant, updates to that generally work on all devices.
+
+That's why, despite the fact that this is very capable speaker and well worth the money, I don't suggest tossing your older Home Mini. Yes the sound is better, but if you want to upgrade your sound, you're better off making a more substantial investment in a quality speaker like a JBL Link 20 ([8/10 WIRED Recommends](https://www.wired.com/review/review-jbl-link-speakers-with-google-assistant/) or Sonos One. 
+
+If on the other hand, you want to extend your existing Google Assistant-based smart home into new rooms, or you want to try out Google Assistant on the cheap, the new Nest Mini is a great place to start.
+
diff --git a/ms-surface-review.txt b/ms-surface-review.txt
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index 0000000..b104adc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ms-surface-review.txt
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+Microsoft's Surface Laptop 3 wants to be great. *I* want the Surface Laptop to be great. I'd like to see the Microsoft AMD partnership produce something that sends other brands scurrying back to the drawing boards. 
+
+Alas, that's not the case. Which is not to say that Surface Laptop 3 isn't worth considering. It's a very well-made laptop that has plenty of power for the average user, and a wonderfully large, 15-inch 3:2 ratio screen that's a joy to work on. Throw in a great trackpad, decent keyboard, and some nice extras like the facial recognition features in Windows 10 and you have solid, lightweight workhorse of a machine.
+
+###Going Big
+
+The 15-inch Surface Laptop is a new form factor for the Surface line. It joins the 13-inch model, which has also been updated. While I did not test the 13-inch model, this years update looks to be yet another incremental update of a solid laptop. You'll get a faster processor in roughly the same shell for the same price.
+
+To create the new 15-inch model it's almost as if Microsoft just hit the 13-inch model with some sort expanding ray gun. And there-in lies the rub in my view.
+
+If you're at all familiar with Microsoft's Surface line, the first thing that jumps out about this laptop is the all aluminium design. Yes, this is an alcantara-free Surface. While the aluminum is fine, the alcantara has defined the Surface family since it was released and its absence makes this feel less, well, Surface-y. 
+
+Like the 13-inch, the 15-inch model is lightweight and has a very solid feel to it thank to the all-aluminum design. It also still has the 3:2 screen ratio of it's smaller sibling, making it really nice for editing documents and other tasks where a taller screen is welcome. 
+
+The most disappointing thing about the Surface Laptop 3 is that Microsoft has not really done anything with the added space of a 15-inch chassis. For example, the keyboard is identical to the 13-inch model, which means there's considerable extra room on either side of it where there could be, well, have a gander at the 15-inch MacBook Pro and maybe add some bigger speakers. 
+
+But no, the speakers in the 15-inch Surface are still right where they are in the smaller version, underneath. If better speakers aren't Microsoft's thing then maybe take a page from the Dell XPS 15 and pack in some extra USB ports and maybe a card reader too. But again, the Surface Laptop 3 sticks with the same single USB-A and USB-C ports found in the 13-inch model. Kudos to Microsoft for at least ditching the MiniDisplay in favor of a USB-C port, but charging still happens through the proprietary, magnetic Surface Connect port, which feels like a missed opportunity to pack in another USB-C port.
+
+And it's worth noting that the USB-C port you do get does **not** support Thunderbolt 3, which means you won't get the speed boost Thunderbolt 3 offers, nor can you use Thunderbolt 3 docking stations to expand your port options. Technically you can use it to charge the Surface Laptop, but I have no idea why you'd want to sacrifice your one USB-C port to charge.
+
+That's not to say the Surface 15-inch is all misses. There's some good stuff too. One high point for is the Windows Face Recognition login works great. You also get support for Microsoft’s Surface Pen, which is not included.
+
+Given it's place in the Surface universe as the beacon of light for those of us still clinging to trackpads and real keyboards that actually sit in your lap, it should be no surprise that both of these are very well done. The trackpad especially is first rate—the best non-Apple trackpad I've used. The keyboard lacks a certain snappiness I've come to appreciate from Lenovo's recent efforts, but it's still well-spaced and comfortable to type on. 
+
+###AMD Inside
+
+The 15-inch form factor is the power users laptop. That's how Dell, Apple, Asus and others have positioned their offerings in this space. High end 15-inch laptops like the MacBook Pro and Dell XPS 15 offer six-core (or more) processors and features creative professionals need like color-tuned screens. Then there's 15-inch gaming laptops, which often sacrifice the sleek form factor, but pack in powerful graphics cards and plenty of ports. 
+
+The Surface Laptop will make neither of these groups happy. As mentioned earlier this machine is really aimed at more casual users looking for a larger screen, but not needing the power of more expensive options. That's why the smart buy here is the low end model.
+
+The base model features AMD's new Ryzen 5 chip which Microsoft calls the Surface Edition Processor to indicate that it has been specifically tuned for the form factor of the Surface. The performance in my testing, using the PCMark 10 test suite pegged the processor at roughly the same performance as an eighth generation Intel i5. 
+
+That's plenty of power for everyday tasks. I noticed no stutters or lags streaming 4K content, editing photos in Darktable, or working with some very large spreadsheets. That level of performance is not, however, going to be capable of editing high res video or compiling large pieces of software. Nor is it likely to impress gamers. There is an option to upgrade to a Ryzen 7 chip with a better graphics card as well, but even these fall short of similarly priced Apple and Dell models (at least on paper). 
+
+One place the AMD chip did impress was battery life. Microsoft claims 11.5 hours. I was not able to get anywhere near that, but I did get a respectable 6.25 on the PCMark battery test and just a hair under 8 playing a looped video with the brightness at 50 percent. The good news is that the proprietary charging cord will get you from zero to 80 percent in just over an hour in my testing. 
+
+The other notable thing, especially compared to some other 15-inch laptops I've used is that the Surface never gets hot in your lap and you hardly ever hear the fan.
+
+The Surface Laptop 3 comes in your choice of four colors, and starts at $999 with a Ryzen 5 chip, 8-gigabytes of RAM, and a 128GB SSD. The unit I tested bumps the RAM to 16-gigabytes and the solid state drive to 256-gigabytes, which brings the price to $1,299. 
+
+If you want a 15-inch laptop for the extra screen real estate it affords and plan to use it to watch Netflix, edit documents, and browse the web, then the base model Surface Laptop 3 fits the bill. While there are cheaper, equally powerful options out there, none of them are quite as well designed, well-built, nor offer the battery life of the Surface. The base model is a solid buy if your needs are that of the casual user.
+
+If, on the other hand, you're looking for a 15-inch powerhouse that can handle everything from video editing to gaming, you're better off looking to the Dell XPS 15 or MacBook Pro, both of which offer better performance for roughly the same price as a maxed out Surface. 
+
diff --git a/pixel4rewrite.txt b/pixel4rewrite.txt
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+++ b/pixel4rewrite.txt
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+Google's [Pixel 4](https://www.wired.com/story/google-pixel-4-pixel-4-xl/) phones are here. There are two new models to choose from: the Pixel 4 and the larger Pixel 4 XL. If you're trying to decide which one to get and where to buy it, look no further. We've broken down all the ordering options and found the best places to snag a new Pixel 4 before it ships on October 24.
+
+If you'd like to see what else Google announced, including other new devices like the Pixel Buds earphones, Pixelbook Go laptop, and Nest Mini speaker with Google Assistant, check out [our full coverage of Google's fall hardware event](https://www.wired.com/story/everything-google-announced-pixel-4-event/).
+
+*Note: When you buy something using the retail links in our stories, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Read more about [how this works](https://www.wired.com/2015/11/affiliate-link-policy/).*
+
+###Picking the Right Pixel for You
+
+Google's latest flagship handset comes in two sizes: the 5.7-inch Pixel 4 and the 6.3-inch Pixel 4 XL. Aside from the screen, the hardware is each version is identical.
+
+Both Phones have OLED displays with the same resolution as last year's Pixel 3. Google has added HDR support, so this year's screens can better represent lights and darks. The new display is UHDA certified, which means it meets the industry standard for showing high dynamic range content. The bigger screen news in this update is the 90-megahertz refresh rate, which should make scrolling through webpages and apps feel even more smooth.
+
+[#cneembed: script/video/5da6107ebcdfff04c588071f.js?autoplay=0]||||||
+
+Also new is the dual camera system. Google has plopped a 16-megapixel telephoto lens alongside the more familiar 12-megapixel wide angle lens. The Pixel 4 camera system still relies heavily on Google's [computational photography](https://www.wired.com/story/google-pixel-3-camera-features/) for many of its features, but the new lens allows for even more camera cleverness.
+
+The Pixel 4 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip with 6 gigabytes of RAM. Both versions of the Pixel 4 are available with two storage capacity options; one with 64 GB of storage and one with 128 GB. If you can swing it, go for 128 GB. If you can only afford the smaller capacity, learn to use the [cloud backup features in Google Photos](https://www.wired.com/story/how-tame-your-smartphone-pic-overload-google-photos/), which can clear up a lot of space.
+
+Aside from the specs, the Pixel 4 also looks significantly different from last year's model—at least, as much as a rectangular smartphone handset can. The characteristic dual-tone back panel that defined the first three generations is gone. Instead the Pixel 4 adopts a more uniform look on the back that's similar to its high-end competitors like the Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy. The Pixel 4 even has a glossy-backed option. Also gone is the rear fingerprint sensor—the Pixel 4 instead relies on face recognition to quickly unlock the phone.
+
+Here's our quick take on the new Pixel 4:
+
+- **The [Pixel 4 ($799)](https://www.amazon.com/Google-Pixel-Just-Black-Unlocked/dp/B07YMNLXL3/){: rel=nofollow} is the best phone for most people:** The 5.7-inch display of the Pixel 4 is going to provide more than enough screen real estate for most users, and with all other factors being equal, the base model Pixel 4 gives you the most bang for your buck.
+
+- **Grab the [Pixel 4 XL ($899)](https://www.amazon.com/Google-Pixel-Just-Black-Unlocked/dp/B07YMG37J4/){: rel=nofollow} if you want better battery life:** The Pixel 4 XL isn't really that huge relative to other hugephones, but the extra bulk does get you a larger battery. With the more power-intensive 90-Hz refresh rate on the display, frankly, you're probably going to want some extra battery power. The Pixel 4 XL has a larger, 3,700mAh battery, which is still on the small size for a phone of this size, but at least bigger than the plain Pixel 4's 2,800mAh battery.
+
+- **The [Pixel 3A (currently $349)](https://www.amazon.com/Google-Pixel-Memory-Phone-Unlocked/dp/B07R7DY911/){: rel=nofollow} is still the best deal on an Android Phone:** Google did not announce a successor to the Pixel 3A and likely won't until next May, but [Google's Pixel 3A (9/10, WIRED Recommends)](https://www.wired.com/review/google-pixel-3a-and-pixel-3a-xl://www.wired.com/review/google-pixel-3a-and-pixel-3a-xl/) is still a great phone. You get a fantastic camera, the still-fast Snapdragon 670 processor, 64 gigabytes of storage, and 4 GB of RAM. It's not going to be anywhere near as fast or smooth as the Pixel 4, or even the Pixel 3, but it's half the price, and often on sale. It's also fast enough that you probably won't notice a huge difference between this model and its more expensive cousins.
+
+###Buy a Case
+
+No matter which phone you end up with, get a case. The Pixel 4 has glass on the front and the back, and it's worth protecting your investment with a case. 
+
+If you don't like the extra size and weight of a case, but still want one, the [Spigen Neo Hybrid](https://www.amazon.com/Spigen-Hybrid-Designed-Google-Pixel/dp/B07TCR26NT/){: rel=nofollow} provides good protection without being overly bulky. If you want really bulletproof protection though, go for an [OtterBox case](https://fave.co/2VKnuLW){: rel=nofollow}. 
+
+###Where to Buy the Pixel 4 Unlocked
+
+The easiest way to order a Pixel 4 or Pixel 4 XL is from Google. We recommend you *buy your Pixel 4 unlocked* from Google, Amazon, or other retailers. That way you'll be able to use it on any wireless carrier, should you ever decide to switch. When it comes time to upgrade in a couple of years, you'll get more money back for an unlocked phone.
+
+- **[Google offers a $100 accessories credit with Pixel 4 orders](https://store.google.com/product/pixel_4){: rel=nofollow}:** Buy it unlocked. Google offers up to a $100 credit toward accessories.
+
+- **[Amazon offers a $100 gift card](https://www.amazon.com/Google-Pixel-Just-Black-Unlocked/dp/B07YMNLXL3/){: rel=nofollow}:** You can get a $100 Amazon gift card with purchase of a Pixel 4 or XL.
+
+- **[Best Buy offers a $100 gift card](https://bestbuy.7tiv.net/b9nbM){: rel=nofollow}:** Best Buy will give you a $150 Best Buy gift card with the purchase and activation of a Pixel 4 or 4 XL on Verizon, AT&T or Sprint. You can also get a $100 Best Buy gift card if you choose not to activate it.
+
+- **[Walmart also offers a $100 gift card](https://goto.walmart.com/c/1305164/565706/9383?subId1=pixel4guide&veh=aff&sourceid=imp_000011112222333344&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.walmart.com%2Fbrowse%2Fpixel%2FYnJhbmQ6UGl4ZWwie%3Fcat_id%3D0%26facet%3Dbrand%3APixel%257C%257Cretailer%3AWalmart.com){: rel=nofollow}:** It's tough to find proper info about Walmart's sale, but supposedly you will get a $100 gift card if you order a Pixel 4.
+
+- **[Pixel 4 from B&H](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1507476-REG/google_ga01188_us_pixel_4_64gb_smartphone.html){: rel=nofollow}:** B&H has no deals, but it is selling the Pixel 4.
+
+###Deals From Wireless Carriers
+
+Below are some major retailer offers, which should all sell unlocked versions of the phone. Again, unlocked is really the way to go, since it frees you up to use any network or sell/gift your phone down the road. Having said that, there are some carrier specific deals out there. They're worth a look if you're not planning to [sell your phone](https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-trade-in-or-sell-your-iphone/) in the future or switch wireless networks. We've linked to the standard Pixel 4 pages.
+
+- **[Verizon offers a buy-one-get-one deal for new unlimited subscribers](https://fave.co/2VOr2wS){: rel=nofollow}:** Verizon has a couple deals. New and existing customers can trade in an eligible smartphone and save up to $450 on a Pixel 4 (depending on the trade-in value). If you switch to Verizon and pony up for the unlimited plan, and pick up a full price Pixel 4, you can get a second 64 GB Pixel 4 free of charge. Here's a link to the [Pixel 4 page](https://fave.co/2VOr2wS){: rel=nofollow}.
+
+- **[T-Mobile offers a free Pixel 4 with Pixel trade-in](https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone/google-pixel-4){: rel=nofollow}:** You'll need to add a new line and have either a Pixel 2 or 3 to trade in. The original Pixel will get you $500 off. Unfortunately T-Mobile does not currently offer the 128 GB model.
+
+- **[AT&T offers $700 off with an eligible trade-in](https://fave.co/2nPCknW){: rel=nofollow}:** The catch is that you'll need an AT&T unlimited plan, and you'll need to begin paying off your new Pixel 4 or 4 XL on a "qualifying installment plan" before you start seeing the benefits of the discount. The plan in question means AT&T will begin charging you $28 per month on a 30-month plan, so you'll be charged a total of $840 for your new Pixel. However, after your first three payments, AT&T will start applying a monthly credit for whatever amount it determined you're getting based on your old phone's trade-in value. That credit can add up to as much as $700 total over the 30 months, meaning your phone will cost you as little as $140 in the end. This isn't the best deal since it plays out over two years, but if you want to be on AT&T's network, it's a way to get a cheap Pixel 4.
+
+- **[Sprint sort of has a deal](https://fave.co/2VLG86p){: rel=nofollow}:** The carrier is offering a leasing deal. Lease a Pixel 4 or Pixel 4 XL and get a second one for $0 per month when you either switch to Sprint or add a new line to your existing account. Sprint is the only vendor allowing you to choose either the 4 or the 4 XL for each of the two lines.
+
+***
+### More Great WIRED Stories
+* The first [smartphone war](https://www.wired.com/story/the-first-smartphone-war/?itm_campaign=BottomRelatedStories_Sections_2)
+* 7 cybersecurity threats [that can sneak up on you](https://www.wired.com/story/cybersecurity-threats-that-can-sneak-up-on-you/?itm_campaign=BottomRelatedStories_Sections_2)
+* “Forever chemicals” are in your popcorn—[and your blood](https://www.wired.com/story/pfas-forever-chemicals-are-in-your-popcornand-your-blood/?itm_campaign=BottomRelatedStories_Sections_2)
+* EVs fire up pyroswitches to [cut risk of shock after a crash](https://www.wired.com/story/evs-fire-pyroswitches-cut-risk-shock-crash/?itm_campaign=BottomRelatedStories_Sections_2)
+* The spellbinding allure of [Seoul's fake urban mountains](https://www.wired.com/story/seoul-fake-mountains-gallery/?itm_campaign=BottomRelatedStories_Sections_2)
+* 👁 Prepare for the [deepfake era of video](https://www.wired.com/story/prepare-deepfake-era-web-video/?itm_campaign=BottomRelatedStories_Sections_2); plus, check out the [latest news on AI](https://www.wired.com/category/business/artificial-intelligence/?itm_campaign=BottomRelatedStories_Sections_2)
+* ✨ Optimize your home life with our Gear team’s best picks, from [robot vacuums](https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-robot-vacuums/?itm_campaign=BottomRelatedStories) to [affordable mattresses](https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-mattresses/?itm_campaign=BottomRelatedStories) to [smart speakers](https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-google-speakers-buying-guide/?itm_campaign=BottomRelatedStories).
diff --git a/polaroid-lab.txt b/polaroid-lab.txt
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--- a/polaroid-lab.txt
+++ b/polaroid-lab.txt
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+The physical world will probably forever retain an emotional primacy digital lacks. I suspect that millions of evolutionary years without screens has primed us to enjoy a Polaroid taped to a bathroom mirror over Instagram any day of the week. 
+
+At least that's what Polaroid is hoping.
+
+Polaroid Originals' new Lab printer takes images from your phone and turns them into Polaroids. Yes, actual Polaroids just like Dad's (Granddad's?) Polaroid used to spit out in the 1970s. The result is a fun, if pricey way to bring your digital snaps into the real world.
+
+### Photo Lab in Box
+
+The new Polaroid Lab is the second iteration of Impossibles [Instant Lab](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/impossible/impossible-instant-lab-turn-iphone-images-into-rea). Polaroid acquired Impossible in 2017 and rebranded it Polaroid Originals. As a result there's no more trademark issues to worry about so Instant Lab has be renamed Polaroid Lab.
+
+Unlike all [other instant camera and printers](https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-instant-cameras/) we've looked at, the Polaroid Lab does not simply grab an image from your phone using Bluetooth and print it out. Instead you pull up the image on your phone using the Polaroid Originals app and then you lay your phone face down on the Lab. The Lab then takes a picture of the picture on your phone, optimizes the color for printing and then spits out a Polaroid which, like the Polaroids of old, takes about 15 minutes to full develop.
+
+While the focus of the Lab is analog, it does offer the ability to "embed" a video with your print. Fujifilm recently did something similar with audio in it's [Mini LiPlay camera/printer](https://www.wired.com/review/fujifilm-instax-mini-liplay/) and in both cases it feels very awkward and gimmicky. The problem is that nothing is embedded anywhere, it's just stored a server and anyone who wants to see the video has to install the Polaroid Originals' app. And it's worth noting that anyone with the app installed can view the video, which has some potentially awful privacy consequences that I'd be more worried about if the feature wasn't so utterly useless anyway. I wish the instant camera world would just drop this idea.
+
+Aside from the video gimmickry, the Lab is dead simple to use. The Polaroids Originals app can select any media file on your phone, and you can edit the image a little with in the app (I suggest increasing brightness). The one quirk of the app is when you edit, there's no preview, the slider covers the image which is, quite frankly, crazy. Since I started testing before the app was publicly released, I assumed this was a beta software bug. However, the final app is out and the lack of preview remains.
+
+Honestly, while this is a ridiculous design decision, it really didn't bother me much since all I was doing was increasing brightness about 20 percent for every photo. I arrived at this value after some experimenting and a lot of overly-dark prints.
+
+###Outside the Lab
+
+The finished prints from the Lab approximate the vibe of old school Polaroids in many ways: washed out colors and soft edges (and I mean that in the best way possible). The Lab got enough right to trigger my nostalgic love of Polaroids, image quality be damned. But in some other ways the look of images from the Lab just didn't work for me. I found some colors, particularly bright greens and blues to be over-saturated in ways that old school Polaroid images never are. They gave certain scenes a garish look that's not really fun, just unpleasant.
+
+The Lab also introduced considerable vignetting (where the corners become darker) that was not in the original images. I am guess this is due to either the design of the case or light leaking around the phone when it's place atop the Lab.
+
+Fortunately the best results I had were with images of people, and really that's what most people will probably want from the Lab. It was fun, and a touch disconcerting, to turn snaps of my kids taken yesterday into images that look like they were made in 1983.
+
+What's missing though is the spontaneity of old Polaroid cameras, which were as much about producing an artifact in the moment as the artifact itself. Separating the fun of making the image -- now the job of your phone -- and the fun of getting it makes getting it somehow less exciting. Or maybe it's the fact that seeing your image on the phone creates a set of expectations that no instant printer can reproduce.
+
+It's too bad because Polaroid co-founder Edward Land very clear saw the world of ubiquitous cameras coming long before most of us even considered the idea. In a [video made for Polaroid shareholder in 1970](https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=727&v=zbmq9R0dtVg) Land says that one day we'll be taking photos using "something like a wallet." He then reaches in his pocket and pulls out a black object that could easily be mistaken for a smartphone. He goes on to say that "we're still a long way from... a camera that would be, oh, like the telephone, something you use all day long."
+
+Land's vision is here, but Land, and the modern-day Polaroid, now Polaroid Originals, are not the makers of the camera that's the size of a wallet and as ever-present as a telephone. Instead Polaroid Originals is on the outside, trying to get back in with efforts like the new Lab. And while the Lab is definitely in the spirit of the old Polaroids, and it undoubtedly fun, in the end it feels pricey for the results it produces. 
+
+Fujifilm's SP-3 printer produces better quality images, without the strangely over-saturated blue and greens of the Lab. This is somewhat subjective, but to my eye nearly all the Instax-based options in our [guide to instant cameras and printers](https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-instant-cameras/) produce better images the Lab, including the Polaroid OneStep. On the other hand I like the Lab's images better than most of cameras and printers in our [guide to Zink-based printers](https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-zero-ink-instant-cameras-and-printers-zink/). And the Lab does print larger images than either the Zink or Instax options, so if it's full size Polaroids you're after, the Lab is your best bet.