BERG, a design studio in London, UK, is focused on product invention. For the last year or so, they've been working on a new concept they call Berg Cloud. BERG Cloud is their technology to "move the smarts" of (apparently physical) products onto the internet. On their website, you'll read a bunch of grandiose statements about their plans for BERG Cloud, but meanwhile, the exciting announcement they shared is about a product called Little Printer, which is just that-- and they say is the first of a family of connected products for the home.
Little Printer is an adorable inkless thermal printer in a tiny box that "lives in your front room and scours the Web on your behalf". The software in the BERG Cloud apparently assembling content you've told it to care about into pre-designated deliveries/outputs.
On BERG Cloud's site, you'll see plenty of mobile phone screens showing how you configure Little Printer from your phone. The company has built a network of content partners for their launch, including companies like Arup, foursquare, Google, the Guardian, and Nike.
My favorite part of the whole announcement is this statement:
"Paper is like a screen that never turns off. You can stick to the fridge or tuck it in your wallet. You can scribble on it or tear it and give it to a friend."
Excitement about print. That's not something we hear much these days, is it? In several years of trying, the Print Council hasn't come up with a statement that cool. Making a favorable comparison of Print to a screen, in an awesomely positive way.
There are a lot of applications for this, which is actually somewhat surprising since this the printed form factor is pretty much a cash register tape! Some of the applications shown by BERG are a tiny bit unlikely-- like a "to do" being put into a wallet. Why would you need a printed to-do list when you have a smart phone? (Which, presumably you have, since you used it to configure the Little Printer.)
Others are great, though, like the idea of printing out a slip for a workout or run, and taking that with you-- I, for one, never take a wallet or a phone with me when I'm working out. I know too many people who have dropped their iPhone while exercising, nightmare. Grocery list is another example. I have used an App for it, but it's cumbersome. Right now, I write down my list and give it to one of my kids who reads it to me while we shop. A little printed reminder is extremely useful sometimes.
Much bigger companies like HP have been trying to print news on personal printers for years now, including with the recent HP ePrint initiative. The jury is still out on whether anyone wants to do this (at all), let alone whether someone will want to do it on a cash register tape! In any case, though, I am a big fan of a Little Printer.
Little Printer is a "small thing", but it is a big idea. And it is super cool. I'm going to buy one just to support their energy, and I hope 2012 brings much more exciting innovation to print in a variety of shapes and sizes!
