There is no need to transfer photos via your computer to the web anymore with Hewlett-Packard’s first ever web-connected home printer, the Photosmart Premium.
This printer houses web applications on its large 4.33-inch touchscreen interface, so that aside from accessing their Snapfish account to upload, view and print photos, users will also have access to web apps or widgets for news, maps, recipes, and so on.
So far, HP has several partners on board to provide these widgets, including USA TODAY, Google, Fandango, Coupons.com, DreamWorks Animation, Nickelodeon, Web Sudoku and Weathernews Inc.
With the Google Maps app, users can enter a destination into the printer and have their mapped out directions printed immediately, while grocery coupons, weekly calendars and even movie tickets (for Fandango users in the US) can be printed.
With the HP Apps Studio, there will also be more web apps coming down the line, but the above mentioned will come preloaded.
“Twenty-five years ago, HP invented consumer printing, and today we are taking advantage of the digital content explosion to reinvent the category with an entirely new printing platform – powered by touch and empowered by the web,” said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice-president, Imaging and Printing Group, HP.
“By giving people access to the content they want at the touch of a finger, the ability to customise their printing experience and create their own apps, and enabling easy ‘one-touch’ wireless setup, we are driving a significant shift in how people will be printing in the future.”
The Photosmart Premium printer will be available in the US this autumn at an RRP of US$399.
By Marie Boran
