Here's another interesting idea for what a mobile phone might be able to do in the future. While chances are that a handset with an integrated printer will never actually become reality, it's a great idea nonetheless.

Camera phones are already common and some people continuously take snapshots of everything around them, but it's not until they get home that they can actually consider printing the photos they shot.

The patent for a mobile phone equipped with a printer was filed in 2004 by Silverbrook, a company that has been responsible for several print related inventions.

The phone seems to work in a similar way to the Polaroid camera and it is described as a handset with : "a printhead positioned on the support structure to carry out a printing operation; a receptacle for receiving an ink cartridge containing at least one ink for supply to the printhead; printing processing circuitry positioned on the support structure, the printing processing circuitry being configured to: generate dot data; supply the dot data to the printhead; and control operation of the printhead".

The image of the phone should explain it all. The paper goes through the center of the phone and the design is very bulky and typical for a handset they thought of back in 2004.

If they are still considering ever producing this device, described as "a handheld mobile communications device with integral internal printer incorporating a receptacle for an ink cartridge", it will most likely be very bulky. Still, to take a snapshot and instantly print it, with only your mobile phone is a major step forward and might shape up into a better idea with an even better application in time.