HP Shows Off Android 'Printer' Tablet

angry tapir writes "Hewlett-Packard showed off a tablet computer that serves as a control panel for its new printer. The tablet browses the Web and can be used as an e-reader. It has a 7-inch screen and can be easily connected to HP's PhotoSmart eStation all-in-one printer. The tablet can be used to move and print documents and images from multiple media devices and can also be used to exchange content between the devices. The display is a larger version of the 3.5-inch control panel screens on HP's earlier Web-connected printers. The device is focused on providing access to content that can be printed, such as photos, articles, e-mail, recipes or e-books."

Keep it simple, stupids!

[Anonymous Coward]

This reminds me of those atrocious oscilloscopes that run Windows [windowsfordevices.com].

Or one of the many software projects that have inexplicable dependencies or balloon way past their original purpose. (Emacs, I'm looking at you!)

Keep it simple. Or as Einstein more precisely put it, as simple as possible but no simpler.

I don't see this becoming the "next big thing"

[dmomo]

But, I do see it driving the direction of general tablet development. Instead of having to buy a specialized tablet for "printing stuff" others will simply have to "do that too". What is special about this tablet that cannot simply exist on others with software? Couldn't the iPad do this with an APP? Why would one need the HP tablet to obtain the functionality?

I suppose that HP is still largely a printer company. Even though people are printing less as the days go by, it's good to see them pushing forward.

Re:what a surprise

[adolf]

The way we print stuff is still pretty archaic, well, in the sense that it often requires further reading to do it right.

The way we do almost everything is still is still pretty archaic, well, in the sense that they often require further reading for us to do them right.

Re:Curiouser: No And. Market sans Carrier subsidy

[worx101]

Because, believe it or not, Google and Apple are "close" to one another. As close as two companies can be while still sorta competing. The two companies share alot of the same board members to my understanding. And Brin, Page, and Jobs are not enemies.

So...

[vegiVamp]

Basically, this is a tablet that has a printer queue running ? Impressive. *cough*

Well, that's their business model

[Kupfernigk]

HP makes money out of ink. That's basically it. So giving you an almost-free tablet that integrates seamlessly with an HP printer encourages you to print stuff when before you would have just made a note, or read it on-screen. A lot of home printing is done by (mostly) women printing out recipes, knitting patterns, things like that (I'm not being sexist, this is the result of a pop survey of my own). Getting them to print them out without thinking on a color printer = $$$.

Canon have a different approach to the same end - they have a print driver for Android that prints photos to their pixma printers. Another way to encourage ink usage.

Re:About time!

[tehcyder]

If you think you need special training to operate a Multifunction office printers/fax machines/scanner I'm not sure you're on the right website.

But not from the article quoted

[Anonymous Coward]

It's reported elsewhere. [pcworld.com] HP is a big company. They don't need everything to run the same OS.

That would be fine (it being reported elsewhere), if the /. posting was about that article. However, the article quoted doesn't say it's android. The title should reflect what the article is about not what may be available information from some other source (unless that source is included in the posting).