martinlittle.com:thinkThin

At lunchtime I dragged Neil & Mahyad along to test the Kodak digital photo print machine in Boots.

The machine worked well -- I fired over the pictures I wanted to print from my phone by Bluetooth absolutely seamlessly (not often you hear that about Bluetooth, unfortunately), but there were also card reader slots for six or seven flavours and an IR interface.

It was necessary to make a few small adjustments to have the pictures printed on 4" x 6" paper, but nothing too difficult; I'm certain my parents could use it. The final result is decent enough to sit on my desk. Each photo cost 49p, which would make it expensive to do in bulk, but for a few odd pictures to send to relatives without computer access, it's got to be a winner.

Kodak and Boots seem to be missing one killer application though -- postcards! Why don't they let you take a photo with your phone and have it printed on to something slightly stiffer than photographic paper, so that it can be sent to friends around the world. They could even do a roaring trade in stamps too. Overall, I'm impressed with both my phone and the service.

These machines are meant to be in Boots stores up and down the UK. The one I tried was in the Shandwick Place branch in Edinburgh, in case you're desperate to try it now. If it asks for a password, try using 2004. According to the lady at the till, the machine has been doing brisk business since it was installed.