Hp Photo Smart

Review: HP Photosmart eStation – the printer with a tablet for a brain

Android seems to be just about everywhere these days. Devices big and small, fat and thin, with a variety of intended uses. At CES this year there was even a microwave running Android . So, when I discovered that HP was planning to make a printer running the mobile OS, I wasn’t so much shocked as curious. After all, thanks to HP’s Android app,  any of HP’s newer printers can be controlled using an app on your phone.

So, what functionality does having Android bring to the printing experience? Well, for starters, HP didn’t just make a printer running Android. They made a printer that serves as a dock for an Android tablet that has complete control of the printer even when it is not docked. Curious? So were we!

The Photosmart eStation C510a could well just be used as a printer with a gigantic 7-inch screen on it. With its SD card slot you can easily stick a card in from a camera and take a look at your photos on a nice big screen before sending them to print. Since the Printer is connected to the web, you could even go grab that picture from Facebook or your email without ever needing to touch a computer. Maybe you are interested in printing out recipes from your favorite website, or maybe you wanted to print out any of HP’s pre-loaded crafts for kids? All of the above is possible with this printer.

What’s more is that if you don’t feel like doing any of this from your office, or wherever you have the printer, you can just pull that 7-inch screen out and walk away with it as a full-fledged Android tablet.

Setup

Truly using their resources to the fullest potential, the C510a’s setup is unique and incredibly easy. Thanks to the tablet mounted on the front of the printer, you are greeted with a video walkthrough of setting up the printer as soon as you connect the printer to the tablet. A brief but helpful video tutorial explaining how you go about adding ink, connecting the duplicator, and inserting the paper trays is infinitely better than the step-by-step poster that has traditionally come with HP’s printers.

Once you have everything connected, the C510a will run a calibration, attempt to connect to the Internet, and is then ready to walk you through connecting to your computer. Wireless connectivity or a USB connection make this very easy, and the setup disk that comes with the device will detect the printer and you are ready to go. In my opinion, HP should strive to make all of their printers this easy to setup, the overall experience was very simple and I was finished in about 15 minutes.

Review: HP Photosmart eStation - the printer with a tablet for a ...

Android seems to be just about everywhere these days. Devices big and small, fat and thin, with a variety of intended uses. At CES this year there was even a microwave running Android . So, when I discovered that HP was planning to make a printer running the mobile OS, I wasn’t so much shocked as curious. After all, thanks to HP’s Android app,  any of HP’s newer printers can be controlled using an app on your phone.

So, what functionality does having Android bring to the printing experience? Well, for starters, HP didn’t just make a printer running Android. They made a printer that serves as a dock for an Android tablet that has complete control of the printer even when it is not docked. Curious? So were we!

The Photosmart eStation C510a could well just be used as a printer with a gigantic 7-inch screen on it. With its SD card slot you can easily stick a card in from a camera and take a look at your photos on a nice big screen before sending them to print. Since the Printer is connected to the web, you could even go grab that picture from Facebook or your email without ever needing to touch a computer. Maybe you are interested in printing out recipes from your favorite website, or maybe you wanted to print out any of HP’s pre-loaded crafts for kids? All of the above is possible with this printer.

What’s more is that if you don’t feel like doing any of this from your office, or wherever you have the printer, you can just pull that 7-inch screen out and walk away with it as a full-fledged Android tablet.

Setup

Truly using their resources to the fullest potential, the C510a’s setup is unique and incredibly easy. Thanks to the tablet mounted on the front of the printer, you are greeted with a video walkthrough of setting up the printer as soon as you connect the printer to the tablet. A brief but helpful video tutorial explaining how you go about adding ink, connecting the duplicator, and inserting the paper trays is infinitely better than the step-by-step poster that has traditionally come with HP’s printers.

Once you have everything connected, the C510a will run a calibration, attempt to connect to the Internet, and is then ready to walk you through connecting to your computer. Wireless connectivity or a USB connection make this very easy, and the setup disk that comes with the device will detect the printer and you are ready to go. In my opinion, HP should strive to make all of their printers this easy to setup, the overall experience was very simple and I was finished in about 15 minutes.

HWM

PHOTOVIDEOi

PC magazine, the independent guide to IBM-standard personal computing

PHOTOVIDEOi

Mac Life