Portable Canon photo printer not only prints, but talks

The power of speech might not be the first feature that comes to mind when shopping for a printer, but Canon says its "voice guidance system" can help you edit and print the perfect snapshot, even when you're on the go.

The New York Times' Gadgetwise blog has the scoop on the five-pound Selphy ES40 ($150, due in October), which boasts a handle along the top, a 3.5-inch LCD, an "easy scroll wheel" for flicking through the various menus, and the ability to print snapshots directly from a digital camera, over Bluetooth, or though the printer's built-in memory card reader (a number of memory-card formats are supported, including SD, Compact Flash, and Memory Stick).

More interestingly, though, the ES40 talks via its "voice guidance system," which (as Canon puts it) "provides step-by-step instructions for printing and adding graphics to images."

But wait, how hard can it be to print out a snapshot? Well, turns out that Canon is aiming the ES40 at amateur photographers "of all ages ... including the very young and not-to-young", according to the Times, so the voice coaching be helpful for little ones or seniors who are still getting the hang of digital photography.

Even better, the ES40 will warn you about yanking snapshots from the dye-sublimation printer (which takes four passes to print out a photo) before they're ready, the Times reports.

Besides being a chatterbox, the ES40 also boasts a series of photo editing features, picture frames, and clip art, including speech bubbles, stamps, frames, and various effects, according to Canon.

There's also a "Portrait Image Optimize" feature that'll tweak the look and composition of your photos via face detection and noise reduction.

Related:
Meet Canon’s New Talking Photo Printer [NYT]
Product page [Canon]