Opinion

Update March 21: Silverbrook has now officially announced the Memjet printing technology. See our latest article for new videos, and news on when products are expected to become available.

After you've read this story, remember to take a look at our more recent articles on Silverbrook and Memjet, for the latest news.

A cheap desktop printer that prints 60 full-color pages per minute? That's among the remarkable claims being made for a new printing technology, dubbed 'MemJet', from one of the world's most mysterious inventors - a man who holds over 1400 patents but hasn't granted an interview in 15 years.

Some industry analysts are believers: “It will have the capacity to turn sector after sector of the printer and imaging consumables market upside down. Without exaggeration, competitors ignore this dynamic upstart at their own peril," warns Steve Hoffenberg, a director of leading printer market research firm, Lyra.

You can't get an international warranty for your mobile phone.

Think about that for a minute. The electronic gadget that you are certain to take with you when you go abroad doesn't have a worldwide guarantee. And that cool new cellphone you buy when you're on vacation won't be covered if it breaks as soon as you get home. That's the situation in much of the world for phones from Nokia, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson, and other vendors.