HP announced four new web-enabled printers, as well as a new ePrint cloud service with storage, print scheduling, printing management, and remote access from any email-enabled device. The HP Photosmart e-All-in-One printers are offered in four models ranging from $100 to $300, says HP.

HP did not mention the operating system behind the printers, nor did it offer in-depth technical details for any model except for the high-end, $300 HP Photosmart Premium Fax e-All-in-One model (below). A photo taken by PrinterComparison.com at the announcement, however, suggests that the next model down, the $200 HP Photosmart Premium e-All-in-One is all but identical to the Linux-based HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web multi-function inkjet, announced a year ago as the "world’s first web-connected home printer." 

HP Photosmart Premium Fax e-All-in-One

At presstime, HP had yet to respond to a request for OS details, but it would seem that all four new printers are based on Linux. The e-All-in-One printers are not, however, the WebOS-imbued printers that HP recently said it planned to offer in the future. (HP's pending acquisition of Palm and its Linux-based WebOS operating system is expected to be completed soon.)

All four HP Photosmart e-All-in-One printers are designed to access the web and new ePrint cloud services (see farther below) without requiring an attached PC. The four printers are as follows:

• HP Photosmart Premium Fax e-All-in-One -- This top-of-the-line $300 multifunction fax printer (pictured above) is notable for its advanced fax functions, duplex printing, and 50-page automatic document feeder. Featuring print speeds of up to 32 pages per minute (ppm) in black and 32 ppm in color, the printer supports up to 600 x 600 dpi print resolution for black and 9600 x 2400 dpi for color, says HP.
  
  Measuring 18.43 x 17.8 x 11.14 inches, the HP Photosmart Premium Fax e-All-in-One is equipped with a 2.4-inch color touchscreen and memory card reader for direct photo printing, says HP. Ethernet and USB ports are provided, as well as 802.11n wireless connectivity, says the company.
  
  Fax speeds are said to reach three seconds per page, with 300 x 300 dpi resolution, and the device can store up to 90 fax pages. Up to 50 copies can be made at up to 32 copies per minute (cpm) in color and 33 cpm in black, with scaling offered at up to 400 percent, says the company.
  
  The 8.5 x 11.7-inch flatbed scanner offers up to 4800 dpi optical scanning resolution, and up to 19,200 dpi with "enhanced" scanning, says HP. The printer is also said to offer 48-bit scanner bit depth.
  
  
  HP Photosmart Premium e-All-in-One
  (Source: PrinterComparison.com)
  
  
• HP Photosmart Premium e-All-in-One -- The spitting image of the earlier HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web (see image below), the new e-All-in-One model pictured above provides WiFi access to the web, as well as a 4.3-inch touchscreen, with HP TouchSmart enhanced touch technology, says HP.  Featuring two-sided printing, the Premium e-All-in-One can be customized with print apps such as Fandango and Coupons.com. Judging from the detail on the PrinterComparison.com shot shown above, the new model offers printing, copying, scanning, and fax.
  
  
  HP's earlier Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web
  
  The earlier model (pictured above) ran on a Freescale ARM11 i.MX31 processor, offered 802.11b/g, Ethernet, a USB port, and a WebKit browser, and measured 18.0 x 19.3 x 7.8 inches. Providing color printing, scanning, copying, and fax capabilities, the unit featured performance of up to 33 ppm in black and up to 32 ppm color, said HP. (For more information, see our earlier coverage, here.)
  
  
  HP Photosmart Plus e-All-in-One
  (Source: PrinterComparison.com)
  
  
• HP Photosmart Plus e-All-in-One -- This mid-range $150 printer (pictured above) is designed for "lab-quality photos, everyday documents, and creative projects," says HP. Equipped with a 3.5-inch HP TouchSmart touchscreen, the device is said to print web content such as coupons, recipes, quick forms, greeting cards, HP Games, crafts, and news.
  
  
• HP Photosmart e-All-in-One -- Equipped with a 2.4-inch HP TouchSmart screen, this entry-level web printer costs only $100. The printer offers photo printing features such as an auto-engaging photo tray and direct access to the Snapfish online photo service.

ePrint floats HP printers into the cloud

The new ePrint cloud service lets e-All-in-One users, as well as users of other ePrint-ready HP printers, store documents online. In addition, users can print from any email-enabled device to any new ePrint-enabled printer from anywhere in the world, claims HP.

The ePrint service is said to "transform printers into publishing platforms" by providing online print customization apps, as well as scheduled timed delivery of content. For example, users can set up the service to automatically download and print out news from MSNBC.com or Yahoo! at particular times, or download the latest creative after-school activities from Disney, says the company.

The service also provides access to HP's ePrintCenter, providing print management services to tailor various content using standard templates. Here, users can register their products and receive updates according to their preferences, configure devices, track ePrint jobs, and browse and suggest new print apps, says HP.

Because the ePrint service uses "Google Cloud" services, it offers access to Google Docs, Photos, and Calendar directly from ePrint-ready printers, says HP. Print apps are also said to be available from partners including Yahoo!, MSNBC.com, Facebook, Live Nation, Crayola, Reuters, DocStoc, and Picasa Web Albums.

Each HP ePrint-ready printer, including the above e-All-in-One printers, is given a unique, simple email address that "allows the sender to deliver a print the same way they would send an email message," says HP. HP ePrint apps are provided for both desktops and smartphones, enabling remote printing of Microsoft Office documents, Adobe PDFs, and JPEG image files, among other formats, says the company.

HP iPrint Photo app debuts on Android

HP also announced that its HP iPrint Photo app is now available for Android. The apps offers direct wireless printing to HP inkjet printers connected to a local WiFi network, says HP.

Other versions are already available for Symbian, Windows Mobile, the Apple iPad, as well as the iPhone and iPod Touch. A Snapfish by HP mobile app will ship for Android sometime this summer, says the company.

Stated Vyomesh Joshi, EVP, Imaging and Printing Group, HP, "We know that our customers want an easy way to print their content, anywhere, anytime. We're making that a reality today by giving people the power to print from any web-connected device -- smartphones, iPads, netbooks and more -- to any printer in our portfolio above $99."

Availability

HP Photosmart Premium e-All-in-One will be available in September for $200, says HP. Availability and pricing for the other printers include HP Photosmart Plus e-All-in-One (August, $150), HP Photosmart e-All-in-One (June, $100), and HP Photosmart Premium Fax e-All-in-One (September, $300).

HP's Photosmart page, which at press time included information only on the new Premium Fax model, may be found here, and the Premium Fax page should be here.

A story on PrinterComparison, complete with additional photos, may be found here.

---

Related Stories:

• WebOS heading for HP smartphones, tablets, printers
• Multi-function printer boasts web access
• Atom handheld has built-in printer
• Microsoft patent deal covers Linux printers
• Touch subsystem supplies Android UI for microwaves, washers

Discuss HP launches ePrint cloud service and four web-enabled printers   >>> Be the FIRST to comment on this article!

>>> More News Articles          >>> More By Eric Brown