The $199 Little Printer was launched in 2012 as a cute way to deliver news and messages using a small, desktop printer. The device built a small but loyal group of followers due to its perpetually smiling face and expanding collection of news, puzzles and other messages that it would print out on a regular basis. Among the daily print-outs on offer, the Little Printer could print out your Facebook News Feed, Instagram feed, or top headlines from The New York Times.
According to Berg, "several thousand" Little Printers were sold throughout the world. The device was also praised for its minimalist design, which included a nomination from the Design Museum in London.
But now, the Little Printer is set to lose its regular updates, as the company behind the device has announced that it will be going into a period of hibernation ahead of a possible sale. Berg Cloud claimed in its blog post that they hadn't been able to reach a "sustainable business in connected products." The company will employ a "skeleton crew" until March 2015 to keep the Little Printer stocked up with haircuts for its smiling face, as well as continuing news.
Berg is also considering releasing the source code for the Little Printer in order to allow others to continue running the service. If the company isn't sold in the coming months, then an update will be sent to Little Printers that will allow them to connect to an alternative version of the software.