Kodak ESP 7
(Credit: Kodak)After our mediocre experience with Kodak's last offerings, the ESP 3 and ESP 5, we're happy to see Kodak fixing some of its old mistakes.
On Monday, the company announced two new products in the ESP line of desktop All-in-One printers. The ESP 7 and ESP 9 both feature secure Wi-Fi print servers for wireless connectivity and Kodak's newest intelligent paper tray system. The printers can approximate the amount of paper in the tray and automatically adjust print settings to increase productivity in the office or home. Both printers are available now and will be tested and reviewed by the CNET team soon.
The $200 ESP 7 is a step above its cousins and has integrated Wi-Fi as well as an autoduplexer for printing on both sides of a sheet of paper. The front panel hosts a 3-inch LCD and the buttons feature a visually appealing blue backlight similar to the stylish Samsung's SCX-4500.
Kodak ESP 9
(Credit: Kodak)The printer also ships with Kodak's Home Center Software with the highly regarded facial autoretouch software. We used the desktop client with both the ESP 3 and ESP 5, with satisfying results. Professional Photoshoppers will definitely notice disparities in the retouch algorithm, but overall the software will appeal to consumers as an effortless way to touch up blemishes and enhance facial features with a single mouse click.
The $300 ESP 9 takes the printing experience a bit further with additional features such as a dedicated fax machine with autodial buttons on the front of the machine, Wi-Fi and Ethernet capabilities, an autodocument feeder for larger-size media, a duplexer, and a larger 10-inch front control panel with the aforementioned blue backlit buttons.
We are also happy to report that Kodak fixed the strange plastic arm that plagued the older ESPs; an industry standard hinge now holds the hood open on both models, so kudos to Kodak for taking user critique into consideration.
Sony Ericsson is claiming a segment topping 25 hour talk time on their new HCB-108.
(Credit: Sony Ericsson)On Tuesday morning in London, Sony Ericsson unveiled its new HCB-108 Bluetooth speakerphone. The most interesting feature can't be seen by looking at the photos. Rather, it requires a peak at the specs, specifically the claimed battery life.
Sony Ericsson claims that a fully charged HCB-108 can remain in standby for a month, which is the longest claimed standby time in its segment. For those who'd rather use their hands-free device than watch it sit idle, the HCB-108 will let users talk for a claimed 25 hours before needing a recharge. Of course, these are claimed times and your mileage will most likely vary.
Moving past the battery tech, the HCB-108 is also a full duplex speakerphone with echo cancellation and DSP. Full duplex is at the top of our wish list for any speakerphone, as it allows for fluid back and forth conversation without having to wait for the other person to stop talking.
The HCB-108 will be officially revealed at the Paris Auto Show in October and will hit shelves in Fall '08.
The HCB-108 will be available in silver and black.
(Credit: Sony Ericsson)
Last week we showed you Epson's newest line of WorkForce printers, and this week Epson is back with another announcement: an "Artisan" series developed with the creative designer in mind. Unlike the WorkForce Series, the Artisan 700 and 800 are perfect for both household consumers and entrepreneurs that want a do-it-all printer that can perform multiple functions.
The Artisan 800 ($300) is the flagship model of the series with a comprehensive list of functions that include Wi-Fi, fax machine, copier with an Automatic Document Feeder, PictBridge support, and a dual paper tray to separate plain and photo-specific paper. Most intriguing is the huge 7.8-inch smart touch panel and accompanying 3.5-inch LCD with buttons that only light up the controls you need to perform a specific function. You can also do light editing right on the printer itself without the aid of external software.
The Artisan 700 ($200) is a slightly slimmed-down version of the 800 but still retains an array of features that will ease the creative consumer into printing, scanning, and copying documents and high-definition photographs. The 700 has the same "piano black" finish as the 800 and also uses the same six-color "Ultra Hi-Definition Claria" ink that delivers 1.5-picoliter size droplets for a more realistic and accurate print. The 700 and 800 both offer the ability to turn plain white paper into college, wide-ruled, or graphed school paper using software built into the driver that comes with the printer. Finally, Epson reports print rates at 38 color and black-and-white pages per minute, but we'll be sure to put that number to the test in our CNET Labs. Look for full reviews coming soon.
Both printers are backed by Epson's comprehensive two-year "Epson Preferred" warranty that includes toll-free telephone support and access to MyEpson.com, a site that has a number of tutorials designed to walk you through the various functions on the machine. Both printers will be available in September of this year.
Xerox officially added five new models to its line of Phaser laser printers today, and I had a chance to speak with a product manager over at Xerox to get the scoop on the new product offering (Phaser 3100, 3250, 3635, 3600, and 5500).
While none of these new printers include built-in wireless, a feature that's been growing in popularity (Xerox sells a separate wireless network adapter for the 3600 series), we're still excited to get a few of these MFPs into the lab for some heavy-duty testing. Let's take a peek at some of the models you'll be seeing soon:
(Credit:
Xerox)
- $350
- Multifunction laser printer with unique ID copy
- OCR scanning
- Full QWERTY keyboard
(Credit:
Xerox)
- $350
- Single function monolaser printer for small workgroups
- Built-in autoduplexer
- PostScript 3 and PCL 6 compatible
- Network ready
(Credit:
Xerox)
- $750
- Network ready monolaser printer
- Optional high-capacity paper trays
- Autodocument paper feeder
- 128 MB expandable memory
Putting together a quality multifunction printer is no easy task, and we've seen a fair share of them that drop the ball, but HP's newest challenger, the Officejet J6480, restored our faith in All-in-One printers.
The HP Officejet J6480 spoils users with many features that aren't normally found altogether in one unit: a very reasonable $200 lands you a wireless photo printer with autoduplexing, scanner with optical character recognition technology, a fax
machine, and even a built in autodocument feeder for printing on various types of paper.
We often are asked the question, "what's the best multifunction printer for my (company's) hard earned dollar? Right now, our two favorites are the J6480 and the Canon Pixma MX7600. The former will appeal to offices on a budget, but if you'd like a more detailed control panel for editing photos and can get your hands on an extra $200, you should definitely spring for the MX7600.
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