After Thanksgiving dinner I saw the Hewlett-Packard commercial for this product and was hooked: A touch screen Wi-Fi device that prints out Web-based content through "apps." I was intrigued by the idea of printing out a Google map without turning on my computer.
The H-P Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web was originally announced back in June, but became widely available for retail in September. The all-in-one (fax, scan, copy and print) device costs $399.99.
The first thing I noticed was how bulky the product was. At 19.4 pounds, the printer is not portable, despite coming with a bag to carry it in. This printer is at best a main printer for a family or home office with Wi-Fi connection on several laptops. Make sure to carry the cables separate from the bag; I cracked the end of the power cord by carrying them with the printer.
Connecting to the Internet wirelessly was difficult at first. I had to update the firmware before I could connect to a free Wi-Fi network while at the office. Even then, the Internet connection was not consistent because the Wi-Fi signal wasn't strong. At home, I still had to troubleshoot before getting onto the network.
Once online, I found that you can only access the Internet via "apps" – programs clearly modeled on Apple's successful app store.
The quality of the prints were great, particularly photos which came out crisp and bright. I also appreciated that photos could be printed from a variety of sources, including memory cards, an iPhone app or from the printer's Snapfish app.
But some of the apps were lacking. The Google maps application prints maps but not directions. H-P says that will be changed within the first half of the year. And there weren't any apps to let me print out concert or airline tickets. H-P says they will be adding more applications in the future; for example apps for banking as well as for printing out boarding passes.
Other apps weren't that useful to me, such as the news apps that let you print out newspaper articles. I prefer to read the news on my iPhone.
And some apps, such as the Fandango app, were extremely slow. I encountered delays while entering letters or numbers into search boxes, and pressing various buttons on the screen. H-P says there will be an update to the software that displays and allows control of items on the touch screen in February, which should solve the lag issues.
The touch screen was also clunky. Often I mistakenly selected the wrong photo while scrolling through the list.
I longed for an Internet browser that would let me print out much more content than just what is found within the "apps." H-P says that option is not in the works for this product, but it is being investigated for other future products. The company also says that in the future individuals will be able to create their own apps with a software development kit.
The idea of printing directly from the Web has great promise. But before I shell out nearly $400 for a printer, I need a wider selection of sources from which to print.
