HP special sauce
Computing giant has been alluding to this development for a while, and today it launched HP ePrint - a cloud technology that enables you to print from any printer enabled with the technology, from any device, just by emailing it.
Such is the cloud-enablement of this technology that you can also store documents on the cloud, with instructions for them to be printed when required, and schedule regular printing tasks from online sources.
This is also looking like a win for Google over Microsoft, with the HP announcement talking about these printers being able to ‘talk' to the ‘Google cloud', meaning you can access Google Docs and other cloud services from the printer without the need for a PC. HP is accompanying this announcement with the launch of a bunch of ePrint-enabled all-in-ones starting at $99.
"We know that our customers want an easy way to print their content, anywhere, anytime," said Vyomesh Joshi, EVP of the Imaging and Printing Group at HP. "We're making that a reality today by giving people the power to print from any web-connected device - smartphones, iPads, netbooks and more - to any printer in our portfolio above $99. The world has changed."
The tag-line for the launch is: "HP ePrint: if you can email it, you can print it". That's certainly both a simple and powerful message. Each printer has its own unique email address and there's also an ePrint mobile app. There's even an advertising platform that encourages companies to make premium printable content available in the ePrint cloud and attach ads, promotions, etc to it.
