Any which way for Olivetti

There’s something very PS2 and monolithic about Olivetti’s first consumer inkjet printer, the Any Way Photo Wireless. We suspect that the design team of British designer James Irvine and Italian engineer Alberto Meda spent much of their R&D time with joypads in hand.

As we keep telling our bosses, who is anyone to question the methods of ‘creative’ types? So, regardless of the evolutionary process, the Olivetti duo has come up with a distinctive look for a product most of us would try to hide under a desk. They have our respect.

But looks are nothing without talent, which is why game-show assistants never get their own series. The Photo Wireless, as its name suggests, features Wi-Fi (802.11g) and Bluetooth wireless support, so you can send pictures off to it from anywhere in the house and get beautiful A4 prints.

There are card slots for – deep breath – SD, XD-Picture, CompactFlash/Microdrive, MMC, Memory Stick and SmartMedia. That covers that, then.

This being the age of convergence, this is also an all-in-one printer, which means it packs a flatbed scanner into its relatively ickle dimensions.

It’s available now from www.argos.co.uk for £120 and will look just perfect next to a certain games console.