Silverbrook's secretsA report by the University of Melbourne's Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia (IPRIA), published in 2006, describes Silverbrook Research as a "secretive" company about which "little is known", although “primary inventor and owner, Kia Silverbrook, is among the top living patenters.” Kia Silverbrook does not appear to have granted an interview to the media for more than 15 years, and Silverbrook Research R&D staff won't even tell friends what they're working on. The only outsiders who claim to know anything are Lyra Research, whose analysts have visited Silverbrook recently.  Kia Silverbrook The mysterious Silverbrook Research has something of the aura of Transmeta, the CPU start up that built hype to a fever pitch by saying almost nothing. Transmeta did deliver a fascinating, innovative product, but the impact on the industry was relatively slight. Prolific inventor Kia Silverbrook himself conjures up images of US polymath Dean Kamen, whose brilliant Segway personal vehicle was a disappointment partly because secrecy drove speculation to ridiculous heights. |
It's difficult to know what to make of the company. On one hand we have the incredible torrent of patents, on the other we have reports that Silverbrook Research was sued by several creditors over unpaid bills a few years ago. There are also oddities like this rather amateurish company logo. And then there's the fact that, despite all those patents, the IPRIA doesn't even list Silverbrook on its chart of top Australian innovators because “it is not regarded as a company that brings any of its products to market and its licensing revenue is unknown". "He's charismatic and very good at getting his ideas across and convincing other people that they are good ideas. But I wouldn't say he had practical business skills in following through to develop products out of these ideas," said a former business partner of Kia Silverbrook in a 2004 Sydney Morning Herald interview. Patent it allOne reason for the huge number of Silverbrook patents is that the company patents both basic technology and its potential applications. So the company has patents with titles like "Hand-held video gaming device with integral printer". Similarly, Silverbrook holds patents for cameras, PDAs, mobile phones, and even in-car entertainment systems, all with built-in printers. These are certainly not products that Silverbrook is likely to develop itself. But, if printer technology becomes much cheaper and much more compact, maybe the next PSP or Gameboy will have its own tiny printer - then Silverbrook's patent will earn royalties. It's worth repeating here that much of Silverbrook's basic research is in fact, all about making printers cheaper and more compact. Silverbrook is such a patent-generating machine that its former legal counsel actually used the experience to set up his own company handling bulk patent filings. |
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Will Memjet Be Revolutionary or Vaporware?
Silverbrook showed off Memjet at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, and had hoped to have a Memjet printer to market at the end of 2009. But those plans have been delayed. That, and Silverbrook's secrecy, have led some consumers to doubt whether Memjet printers will ever materialize.Veteran printer reviewer M. David Stone, an editor at PCMag.com, did confirm in August 2009 that the technology is viable. "I suspect there won't be any such announcement [about a Memjet product]," Stone writes, "until a product is very close to being available, with the company possibly waiting until it's ready to ship the product on the day it's announced."
If Memjet's potential is realized, the technology may well revolutionize consumer printing. Having waited more than ten years to perfect their technology, it is perhaps understandable that Silverbrook is playing coy until Memjet can be dramatically debuted.
http://www.suite101.com/content/what-is-memjet-printer-technology-a155555
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