Naturally, the paper will be specialized, also from Zanetti though with a slightly more dignified name: Speakpaper. Whatever dignity Speakpaper had, however, is quickly lost when Zanetti reminds us that it and the printer are all to be marketed under the umbrella “Speeky” brand. Sigh.

Zanetti’s been using an HP look and feel on its Web adverts, which HP isn’t too happy with, but what’s more important is that HP is working on similar technology. But unlike Zanetti, HP hasn’t shown anything other than a comment during a press briefing, which means there’s some poor HP research geek trapped in a lab somewhere sweating furiously under a sign that says “Beat Zanetti or Die!”

HP has gone so far as to say its talking photo would allow users to approach and hear the sound through a cell phone–good concept. Zanetti’s magnetic strip requires a reader right now, which is too cumbersome IMHO. However, Zanett’s also said it was going to mod its paper to talk to mobile phones, so I’m thinking that’s the future direction of talking photos. Bluetooth-enabled headphones, MP3 players and PDAs might be another smart move, but let’s see where this goes.