Many of us have morning routines that we’ve stuck to for years. For me, starting my day with a cup of coffee and a glance at the latest news go hand in hand. Now, Tim Hortons and Dubai’s Gulf News have partnered up and are taking this daily ritual quite literally with their new Headline News Cup Sleeve.
Gulf News developed a special printer that’s synched up with their Twitter feed. When you order a drink the barista runs a cup sleeve through the printer then, faster than you can say “half caff triple venti skim latte no foam with two shots of hazelnut,” out pops the sleeve with the newspaper’s latest headline tweet. Tweets are updated hourly and the sleeve also includes a short URL and a QR code to allow customers to either type the Web address or scan the QR code with their smartphone to get more details on the news.
This is such a clever idea and I think there could be so many other applications beyond news. Looks like the Headline News Cup Sleeve is only available in select Tim Hortons in Dubai so it could be a while before it hits the rest of the world, but here’s hoping that more publications and more coffee shops (are you listening, Starbucks?) adopt this technology.
This video shows the printer in action:
Baking Amok 