(Credit:
HP)
We've been hearing a lot of hype surrounding HP's new touch screen printer, the Photosmart Premium TouchSmart Web, and finally got a unit into the CNET Labs for a full set of tests. It's HP's flagship printer and the first of its kind to allow wireless Web connectivity directly from the printer itself, courtesy of a large 4.33-inch LCD display. To kick off the launch, HP also debuted an App Studio for users to browse and download custom shortcuts and widgets for the printer.
Now that we've had a week to thoroughly review the HP Photosmart Premium TouchSmart Web, we're feeling underwhelmed by the lack of overall features and usability. We ran into several snags during the testing process, on top of our disappointment at the lack of an autodocument feeder and the letter-size scanner bay. For example, the display feels dull to the touch and lacks the responsiveness that we've come to expect out of an interactive screen. We found ourselves struggling to firmly select an icon, which often resulted in misguided navigation. On top of that, many of the applications had a tendency to freeze up during our tests, requiring a sluggish restart time.
Our main issue with the printer is that the touch screen and app studio just don't offset the $400 price tag, especially when you can purchase a perfectly capable HP multifunction Photosmart for $270 that actually has physical buttons--as long as you're willing to sacrifice the gimmicky touch screen and app store. As it stands, the App Studio doesn't quite offer the functionality and ease of use that we expected. Each app, like Google Maps or USA Today, has its own submenu...with sub-submenus...with sub-sub-submenus, to the point where we started wondering why anyone would bother tapping 15 times on a 4-inch screen when an actual computer (with novel hardware like a keyboard, mouse, and large monitor) can't be too far away.
We even performed an anecdotal timed test to further prove how the app store and a touch screen without any hard buttons can overcomplicate an otherwise easy-to-use machine, but you'll have to read the review for the unsurprising results. One final note: HP has informed us that an SDK will soon be available for developers to make their own apps for the printer, which we hope will add more exciting and useful apps to the line-up, but judging from the poor reception to its desktop TouchSmart SDK, we're not holding our breath.
Check out our full review and video for the HP Photosmart Premium TouchSmart Web.
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HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web.
(Credit: HP)HP on Monday introduced the HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web, believed to be the world's first Web-connected printer with a touch screen. I had a chance to get an exclusive look at the new device, and I'm really impressed with HP's effort to reinvigorate the printer as the central hub in the digital home.
The Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web is poised to become HP's flagship printer when it's released in September. It's got all the common features we now expect to find in an HP Photosmart All-in-One, including printer/fax/copier/scanner, USB 2.0, 802.11b/g/n wireless, Ethernet, Bluetooth connectivity, HP's paper feed technology that automatically senses the size of media needed to a complete a job, five individual ink cartridges, and the ability to print screenshots directly from a PlayStation 3.
The real crowning feature, however, is the TouchSmart Web control panel that lets users connect to the Web and use custom apps from services like Fandango, Google, and Coupons Inc.
The massive 4.33-inch LCD touch screen is by far the largest display I've ever seen on a printer, and it's not just for looks--it actually has a purpose. ... Read More
Last month we reviewed the Canon Selphy CP760, a cute little dye-sublimation printer that won us over with its simple menu, quick prints, and most importantly, its small-ish price tag; $100 is a fairly easy price to swallow for a single function printer, especially when we've got so many inkjet printers that can not only print out similar quality photos, but can also print out text on standard 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch paper! In either case, we were impressed by this little guy's ability to churn out excellent quality prints in a short amount of time.
The Canon Selphy CP770 was released at the same time as the 760 and features the exact same printer and all the same specs: same 2.5 inch TFT screen, same print speed and quality, etc. It's literally the exact same printer, only the CP770 is $50 more. Why? Because of the bucket that it comes with.
I've heard of some pretty ridiculous accessories in my time here at CNET, but a $50 plastic bucket really takes the prize. Granted, it's convenient to be able to carry the power adapter and a few extra sets of paper and ink, but $50? For that money, I'd rather just carry all the junk around in a plastic grocery bag. Do I really need an overly glorified container?
Another complaint that we have with the CP770 is that although the printer may look travel-friendly (mainly because of that bucket and handle), in order to make the package completely wireless, you have to buy two not-so-cheap accessories: a $50 Bluetooth adapter and an $80 external rechargeable battery pack! $130 bucks total. Say I don't buy those accessories, now I'm just stuck with a bucket? What's the use of having a bucket if you can't print, say, outside in a park or at a baseball game? The option to print in nature is a very cool idea; paying $130 to get there is not.
Don't get my words twisted; we still like the printer itself, and there's certainly a reason why we gave the Selphy CP760 a "very good" rating, but the Selphy CP770 just doesn't bring anything worthwhile to the table. We recommend picking up the Selphy CP760 if you're shopping around for a portable printer. We also just received a shipment of HP printers that includes a few mobiles, so check back soon for full reviews.
In the meantime, check out the reviews for the Selphy CP760 and the Selphy CP770.
HP released two new portables and one desktop printer today, all within the Photosmart line of photo-ready printers. With summer in full swing, HP lets you grab your digicam and a camera to print on the run. Let's take a closer look at these new offerings:
- Photosmart A530: $99, A refresh from last year's Photosmart A526. This time around, it features a bright 2.4-inch color display, 27-seconds-per-photo reported print speed, and the option to print wireless with their Bluetooth adapter.
- Photosmart A630: $149, 4.8 inch touchscreen, 5x7 inch max print size, touch-screen keyboard and stylus for creative elements that include colorful borders, frames, clip art, captions, and drawings.
- Photosmart D5460: $100, five-ink cartridge bay, 1.5 inch color display, 31 color pages per minute, up to 9,600 x 2,400 dpi color on HP's Premium Photo Paper
Both portable printers have a pop-up handle and a paper input tray that folds up for easy travel. We're happy to see that they've improved on the Photosmart A526 by adding on screen editing and a ton of options for individual picture customization. The Photosmart A560 and A630 will be available in August; the Photosmart D5460 is available now.
Yesterday I posted about the Epson Stylus NX400, a printer geared toward people with a limited budget. Well, it looks like HP is also looking to ramp up their low-cost printer line--today, they released three printers designed to increase efficiency in the home. Let's take a look:
Let's start with the HP Photosmart C4480, an All-in-One printer, scanner, and copier for $99. This one looks like it will be a direct competitor to the aforementioned Epson Stylus NX400. Both have multifunctionality and an LCD screen, but the HP is only 1.5 inches and fixed in place, while the NX400 bumps it up to a 2.5-inch tilt screen. The C4480 is a refresher of last year's Photosmart C4280. We were dissatisfied with the C4280's omission of a Pict-Bridge port and the subpar print quality, so we'll see if HP listened to our complaints when designing this year's model.
The Photosmart C4480 and Deskjet D4360 are both available now on HP's Web site, and the Officejet J4680 will arrive in stores beginning in August.
HP Photosmart Pro B8850
(Credit: HP)These days, the $500-$550 mark seems an oddly expensive place for a consumer photo printer to live, but for printing your digital SLR shots larger than 8x10 or churning out those digital scrapbook pages, that's how much you've got to pony up for quality output. Not that there's a huge choice. The field consists of the relatively old, dye-ink-based Canon Pixma Pro9000 (admittedly, with some street prices that dip below $400), the not-quite-shipping pigment-based (but recently reviewed) Epson Stylus Photo R1900, and the newly announced, also pigmented, HP Photosmart Pro B8850.
You won't find a lot of differences between the B9180 and the B8850: most significant, HP dropped the Ethernet port for the cheaper model. There are some design tweaks around the control panel--no LCD text display on the B8850--but otherwise it's the exact same size and weight.
It uses the same print engine,which takes the same eight-ink/seven-color Vivera ink system (seven color because you'd never use the matte black and photo black simultaneously), and runs at the same speeds--I won't bother quoting the useless draft-mode numbers the company publishes.
The printer is slated to ship this April for $549.
HP announced three new printers today: two high-end single-function units, and a midrange all-in-one. All are part of HP's Photosmart lineup. The Photosmart D7260 and the D7460 are both single-function printers that offer a 3.5-inch touch screen LCD; 34ppm black and 33ppm color printing (in draft mode); six-color photo printing; built-in memory card readers; a front-mounted, PictBridge-enabled USB port; and built-in Ethernet for easy networking. Additionally, the D7460 includes built-in wireless networking, so your printer's not confined to your already-crammed networking closet. The D7260 costs $150, while the D7460 costs $180; both will be available in August.
The C5280 AIO is available now.
(Credit: HP)The Photosmart C5280 all-in-one printer is the follow-on to the C4180 and is available now for $150. It offers all the features we'd expect to see for an AIO in this price range: print, scan, copy; a dedicated photo paper tray that holds up to 5x7 paper; 4-ink printing with optional 6-ink photo printing; a 2.4-inch graphical LCD (not touch screen); and built-in media card slots. The most interesting aspect of the C5280 is its ability to print photos and text directly onto CDs, from small (80mm) discs to standard CD/DVD discs. Of course, you'll need to buy special printable discs, but you won't need to buy special ink--the CD printer uses the ink that's standard for this AIO.
Check back soon for full reviews of these products.
HP PhotoSmart R837
HP just announced several new products at PMA 2007, including three new digital cameras and a new photo printer dock.
The HP PhotoSmart M837 is a compact 7-megapixel, 3X zoom camera with a surprising amount of style. Its slim body and sliding lens cover are more than a little similar to Sony's stylish but much more expensive PowerShot T-series of cameras. The M837 sports a big 3-inch LCD screen that HP claims has a 170-degree viewing angle. The camera also has several image editing features, including a new red-eye reduction mode. The HP PhotoSmart M837 ships in April, with a suggested retail price of $230.
The HP PhotoSmart M437 and M537 are twin budget cameras. The M437 uses a 5-megapixel sensor and a 2-inch LCD screen, while the slightly more robust M537 has a 6-megapixel sensor and a 2.5-inch LCD screen. Their features may seem lackluster, but their price tags certainly look good; the HP PhotoSmart M437 and M537 will retail for $110 and $130 when they ship in April.
HP also announced the PhotoSmart A440 Camera and Printer Dock, a snapshot photo printer. The A440 can print 4X6-inch borderless prints directly from any HP PhotoSmart M-series digital camera, including the newly announced models. The A440 ships in April, and will be available as a standalone product, or bundled with the M437 or M537 digital cameras. The printer bundle's suggested retail price will range from $180 to $200.
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