Printers

Images: Adding sound to pictures

By // July 18, 2006, 8:44 AM PST // billdetwiler

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  • Italian start-up Zanetti Studio is marketing a printer that places magnetic sound strips on photos. Here, a Zanetti advertisement mock-up that has Hewlett-Packard's familiar look and feel simply inverts the "p" in the "hp" logo. The "hq speekysmart 4001," however, has nothing to do with the American PC maker. Zanetti Studio, marketer of the speekysmart printer, which promises to add verbal comments to photos, was asked by HP to remove the ad from public sites.

    Zanetti Studio

  • The next phase of the printer ad drops the HP-like logo, but it still resembles many of the company's recent print ads. Promising to "add sound to your digital pictures," the mock-up now brandishes a white Speeky logo.

    Zanetti Studio

  • Zanetti Studio is looking for a hardware-manufacturing partner to expand on its concept of adding audio tracks to photos, paper and other materials. This handheld mouse-like device reads a magnetic strip on the side of an 8.5-inch by 11-inch paper that can record 4 to 5 seconds of audio.

    Zanetti Studio

  • This artist's sketch of a futuristic cell phone shows how the handset could be equipped with a magnetic reader. That way, people would be able read magnetic strips without having to carry around another device in their pocket. Zanetti Studio is currently looking for a partner to mass-produce the hardware.

    Zanetti Studio

Italian start-up Zanetti Studio is marketing a printer that places magnetic sound strips on photos. Here, a Zanetti advertisement mock-up that has Hewlett-Packard's familiar look and feel simply inverts the "p" in the "hp" logo. The "hq speekysmart 4001," however, has nothing to do with the American PC maker. Zanetti Studio, marketer of the speekysmart printer, which promises to add verbal comments to photos, was asked by HP to remove the ad from public sites.

Zanetti Studio

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Printers Hardware Innovation

About Bill Detwiler

Bill Detwiler is Managing Editor of TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop supp...