The HP Sprocket is that gadget you don’t realise you need until you own one and you can’t get enough of it. Let me explain!
I see and play with so many gadgets every week and the Sprocket is one of those I’ve come by many times but couldn’t comprehend why I’d need one or buy one.
It’s a very simple gadget that can fit in your pocket and it’s a lot of fun when you take it to a festival or just travelling and printing pictures to cement the memories made or share with the people you’re with.
Right now, most people just take pictures and share them on social media, but what if you could take it one step further and print it for a picture collage or even an album that you can look back to with your friends? As a photographer, you could even print your favourite pictures and use it as a business card by handwriting your number on the border or the back.
In the box, you get a USB cable and the Sprocket itself. To get started, all you’ll need to do is download the free accompanying app and you’re all set to start printing 2 x 3″ photos from your smartphone. It supports both iOS and Android platforms too.
Adding or removing the printing sheets is also very easy, you just have to slide the top casing off and insert the sheets. You get 10 sheets included, then you can purchase more from HP or Amazon. The app also allows you to make the prints fun by adding emojis, borders and captions.
Elsewhere on the Sprocket, there’s one button to power it on and put it into pairing mode, a micro USB port and two indicator lights. To make it fully portable too, there’s a lanyard port so you can have it on a wrist strap or neck strap. One thing to point out is that the Sprocket is glossy so it will scratch up very easily.
Inside the app is where everything happens; you can link up the Sprocket to Instagram, Facebook and Google, so you can print directly from there or you can print from your camera roll if you prefer – you can even buy printing sheets from the app.
Using the app’s camera feature, you can save to camera roll, print multiple images to share amongst friends, and edit your picture. The editing function allows you to add fade, adjust brightness and contrast, add filters, borders, emojis, write on it, add text and crop as you see fit.
Overall, the Sprocket is fun and easy to use with a good battery life too. It’s portable and will get you printing pictures again but in a much more creative way. The only thing that could stop anyone from buying it is justifying the costs; It’s £99 to buy and then once you run out of sheets, you will need to spend more too.
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