HP Shows Off Android 'Printer' Tablet 70
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by
Soulskill
from the i'm-not-sure-the-market-was-crying-out-for-this dept.
from the i'm-not-sure-the-market-was-crying-out-for-this dept.
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."
And android is... where? (Score:2, Interesting)
From TFA:
"The company did not specify the operating system used on the tablet."
Where did the editor take that it runs Android? I got shocked when i read that, since HP bought Palm to use WebOS on pretty much these kind of devices.
what a surprise (Score:5, Interesting)
That said, I prefer a netbook for multimedia on the basis that one doesn't have to hold it to view it in place to view it and it has a lot more CPU and GPU horsepower than one can stuff into a tablet with acceptable battery life and size.
People and companies are still trying to figure out where tablets make the most sense, the idea that it will magically replace every other form of computer in the next few years is a non-starter no matter how many IT pundits tell us that It Must Happen.
Re:what a surprise (Score:4, Interesting)
I think it's fairly obvious that one of the places where a tablet can shine is specifically for device controller UI applications. It's compact and all one has to do to make it control a device is to stick a mini-webserver on it, after which your UI can be simple static webpages plus hardware control/monitor scripts. That's why I bought one (MID-006) directly from China a couple of months ago, to enable me to experiment in this area. Other places where it makes sense is as an e-reader and casual websurfing.
The first thing I thought was the fact that it brings a simple UI to printers with web access and all that jazz. Maybe this means in a few years I won't have to listen to people complain about not being able to print something. The way we print stuff is still pretty archaic, well, in the sense that it often requires further reading to do it right.
This just shows how profitable (Score:3, Interesting)
This just shows how enormously profitable printing is (for ink makers). HP is giving away a tablet with their printer to make it easier to customers to find things to print. Nevermind the fact that for everyone else, tablets and e-readers are seen as an alternative to printed material. If there's even a chance that this increases the amount of printing that people do, HP will come out ahead.
Re:what a surprise (Score:1, Interesting)
I think it's fairly obvious that one of the places where a tablet can shine is specifically for device controller UI applications. It's compact and all one has to do to make it control a device is to stick a mini-webserver on it, after which your UI can be simple static webpages plus hardware control/monitor scripts. That's why I bought one (MID-006) directly from China a couple of months ago, to enable me to experiment in this area. Other places where it makes sense is as an e-reader and casual websurfing. .
For a table to work as a device controller, it needs to be able to do so without adding significantly to the cost. Adding $300 to the price of a standard multifunction inject printer doesn't sound like a good deal, unless you don't have a computer in the house. A more useful gadget would have been a printer that lets me print from my smart phone (iphone, evo, pre, etc) wirelessly and effortlessly.