HP Unveils World’s First Web Connected Printer

Like me, many people are probably thinking "Woohoo, a new printer" ... Or not. But HP's latest Photosmart printer does actually have a few features that, while they may not be something to get excited about, are at least different enough to make you look again. Is the world's first web-connected printer worth the hype? Is it worth any hype?



Jumping on the touchscreen bandwagon, the HP Photosmart Premium has a 4.33" touchscreen on the front. This Touchsmart Web has several bundled online apps that help you do things like print Google Maps, tickets, photos from Snapfish and whatever else you may need printed on paper. They even have an Apps Studio now open to developers ... just in case you want to download a whole bunch of apps to your printer.

Sure it sounds like it could be cool, but then you hear that it'll run at $399 (available in September in the US). I think I'll pass, at least until they can drop the price down in the realm of even remotely worth paying that for a printer. Because, even with web access and apps, it's still just a printer.

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