Tech Mania

New Disposable Printers to Cut Costs, But are they Worthwhile?

David — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:08:13 +0000

Everyone knows that printer manufacturers don’t actually make their money off of the printers. With the exception of some high-end workhorses that cost hundreds of even thousands of dollars, the vast majority of printers are low-end middlemen between consumers and the real product, ink cartridges. The printer is just the catalyst, the bridge that forces the captive audience to buy more and more ink cartridges.

This bears an interesting similarity to other products that have a similar captive product mentality, namely cameras with rolls of film (made almost obsolete by digital cameras) and shaving razors with razor blades. In both cases, an alternative emerged to being constantly forced to buy new stocks of razors or film: disposable products. Disposable razors and disposable cameras are staples of our domestic lives and in the case of the disposable cameras particularly, even seem likely to eclipse the lifespan of film-roll cameras, thanks to their convenient nature, an aspect they even surpass digital cameras in.

It seems only natural then, that the next step in the disposable technology landscape should be for disposable printers. If we are to first admit that we still need printers occasionally, and next, that we abhor buying ink for our intrinsically almost-worthless inkjet printers, then we must finally admit a need for a disposable printer, or at least a sneaky want.

That’s what the entrepreneurs featured at Yanko Design would have us believe, as they tout their new Instant Cartridge Printer to be both convenient and biodegradable. Each printer will be as large as the paper inside it and is expected to be used for printing photos directly from a digital camera. It’s difficult to imagine just how the cartridge will be biodegradable, with both an internal battery and a USB port, but that’s the official story. The printer will supposedly carry the ink sufficient to print out 12 full color photos, although this statement is also disputable. How much ink is one photo supposed to use? What if a photo requires more than its fair share of ink?

These questions will undoubtedly be answered as the product hits markets and the first consumer reviews come back. For now, people are just more interested in the capabilities of the printer. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the product, with some people stating that they’d be willing to buy them if the cost of the printer turned out to be less than the cost of buying replacement ink and paper. Others have said that the printer would only be worth the investment if they very infrequently printed anything to begin with.

However you feel about disposable printers, you’re unlikely to encounter one any time soon, since they are currently only available online, at just that one website. Whether they will catch on and inspire imitations or whether they will be just another ill-conceived backfire of a concept remains to be seen.

By Blogsdna

Android Gaining on Apple iOS in mobile market share

Siddanth — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 03:49:07 +0000

Web statistics company Quantcast published the data, which tracked U.S. mobile web consumption in the month of August.Android saw a 2% gain in mobile web market share while all other platforms lost share.In an earlier post, Quantcast noted that it “does not include Apple’s iPad in mobile web consumption analysis,” although it did not specifically state whether the iPad’s figures are excluded from the most recent data set. According to Net Applications, which includes the iPad in its figures, iOS is now the third most popular Web browsing platform globally.

Over the past year, Apple has lost ground to Google, losing 11% of the mobile web consumption market while Google picked up 17% more market share. iOS still maintains a significant lead with 56% of the market, more than twice that of Android, but current growth trends could cause problems for Apple in the near future. If Google can maintain another year of comparable growth, Android will be nearly neck-and-neck with iOS.The mobile web race continues to be mostly between Google and Apple, as RIM’s market share dipped from 10% to 9% last quarter and the combined market share of all other platforms hovered around 10%.

Google’s multi-carrier, multi-manufacturer strategy seems to be working. During the second quarter of this year, shipments of Android-based smartphones outpaced iPhones for the first time.Wall street analysts have warned that Apple may be nearing saturation on the AT&T network in the U.S. Shaw Wu with Kaufman Bros. suggests that a deal between Apple and Verizon could help the iPhone regain some lost market share. With its 93 million subscribers, Verizon could more than double Apple’s potential iPhone customer base in the U.S.

By Blogsdna

Samsung’s Gem headed to Verizon shows up in Best buy buyer’s guide

Siddanth — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:19:12 +0000

There were some talks going on concerning the Samsung Gem before and a new listing for the phone in Best Buy’s September buyer’s guide confirms the existence of Verizon’s new low-end Android piece that’ll likely slot in below the Fascinate in Sammy’s lineup for the carrier. Looks like it’s slated to launch with Android 2.1(Eclair), not 2.2(Froyo), and will include both TouchWiz 3.0 and Swype — both Samsung staples at this point — along with a 3.2 megapixel cam and 16GB of microSD expansion (though it’s not clear whether they’re going to do you the favor of throwing a card in the box). Despite the high-end name, we’d argue pricing is definitely going to determine the success of the Gem, especially in a world where Vibrants go for next to nothing on contract. $79.99 at launch, perhaps? Ain’t sure at present

By Blogsdna

Samsung says – “We are prioritizing our Android platform “

Siddanth — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:41:39 +0000

After Dell dropped plans of Windows phone 7 line ups in the leaked roadmap, Microsoft is pinning its hopes on Samsung on Windows phone 7.Speaking to Reuters at the show, Samsung’s head of marketing for its mobile division, YH Lee, said flatly that “we are prioritizing our Android platform,” adding that, “Android is very open and flexible, and there is a consumer demand for it.” Lee further went on to note that the company will continue to focus on its own Bada platform (at least outside of North America), but seemingly downplayed Windows Phone 7 when asked about it, saying only that ”there is still some professional, specialized demand there.” Ouch. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Samsung also says it’s “not seeing visible demand for Symbian.”

By Blogsdna

iPhone 4 to be offered by Vodafone and O2 in Germany

Siddanth — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:33:56 +0000

According to Wall Street Journal, Deutsche Telekom is said to be preparing for the loss of its iPhone 4 monopoly ahead of this year’s holiday shopping season. Citing separate sources familiar with the matter, this report suggests that Vodafone and O2’s German arms are earnestly reaching out for Apple’s latest and greatest, and while distribution deals haven’t yet been finalized, negotiations have reached an “advanced stage.” Much as with O2’s UK exclusivity deal, Apple looks to have opted against extending its arrangement with Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile in an effort to reach the widest possible consumer base.So with T-mobile losing exclusivity more chances of Vodafone and O2 wrapping the deal.

By Blogsdna

Tech Mania

New Disposable Printers to Cut Costs, But are they Worthwhile?

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