Industrial design can go a long way. Giving a little thought to the aesthetics and construction of a product is a great way to differentiate it from the competition. Epson seem like they 'get this'. Their new photo printer looks like it was just dragged out of the 80s. But in the best possible way.
While it looks like a retro computer, the E-820 is a stand alone photo printing and manipulating machine. You dump your images on its hard drive and can then cull, tweak and print the ones you like to your hearts content. There's a built in approximation of Photoshop thrown in so you can crop, shade and mess with images without needing a computer.
What does make the system a little different to the competition is its ability to create postcards from your favourite photos. It features over 1000 different icons and borders so you can make your own 'wish you were here' cards and mail them around. Or whatever weird postcards get you off.
Oh yeah, it features a 7 inch LCD display, a wireless keyboard, various USB slots and a handle – for portable printing joy. The only unhappy part about the package is the fact it's only (currently) available in Japan and retails for a rather hefty $700. But you can't put a price on good industrial design. Just ask Steve Jobs.
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epson.com