HP’s TouchSmart Web Changes Playing Field

In an announcement that was noteworthy for what was said and how it was said, on Monday HP unveiled the world’s first web-connected home printer: The HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web.

In essence, what HP did was establish what the printing platform of the future will be by giving people quick and easy, touchscreen access to popular digital content using HP’s TouchSmart technology to pull content from the web directly to the printer - no PC required. The printer features an extra-large, intuitive-to-use TouchSmart panel which allows people to instantly connect to the things they want/need (”fun, informative and personal content”).

During the news conference, which was accessible online (http://current.com/hp-reveal/) via Current TV, HP’s executive vice president of the Imaging and Printing Group, Vyomesh Joshi was joined on stage by a number of digital content partners, including Google, Google, Fandango, Coupons.com, and Nickelodeon.

Note: On of the interesting things about this particular news conference was the use of Twitter throughout - not only for asking questions, but to post and view comments on screen (overlaying the video feed). It felt like MTV’s Total Request Live.

So what’s the big deal about this new printer?

Think of it as an in-home kiosk for things you want to access and make a hard copy of quickly. Potential uses that were discussed include:

• Building your own newspaper from a variety of feeds and digital content.
• Printing out GoogleMaps and your Google Calendar.
• Getting movie tickets without a computer.
• Printing out coloring books at Nickelodeon.
• Increasing coupon usage by making them more accessible.
• Printing recipes

Think Kiosk@Home…

Back to the kiosk idea, this printer’s footprint is nearly 18 inches wide by 19 inches deep by 7.8 inches high. It isn’t necessarily something you want to plop on your kitchen counter. But perhaps, with some stylish IKEA furniture, it could become a nice fixture in the family room.

Some other fast facts include:

• Expected to be available for purchase September 2009
• Target U.S. street price of $399.99
• It comes with a full range of wired and wireless connectivity options, including the freedom and flexibility to print directly from Wi-Fi enabled PCs, Bluetooth®-enabled devices, the iPhone^TM and the iPod touch^TM using HP iPrint Photo.
• Simply touch one button for wireless set-up-making adding the printer to a home network easier than ever.
• Customizable the HP TouchSmart Web screen with a variety of Apps and add new ones simply by touching “Get More” right on the screen.   Current partners include:
  • Google Maps for printing maps
  • Fandango for movie tickets
  • Snapfish for accessing and printing photo albums
  • Google Calendar for viewing and printing personal calendars
  • USA TODAY for the latest news
  • DreamWorks Animation for family printables such as coloring pages
  • Coupons.com for printing coupons and recipes
  • Nickelodeon for activities kids can enjoy based on the network’s characters
  • Weathernews Inc. for up-to-date weather information
  • Web Sudoku for printing puzzles

• Directly print from a PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) - capture and print screens to show off as proof of achievements.(

• HP’s Auto Sense technology helps prevent common printing mistakes and save paper by ensuring that prints are loaded correctly and that settings are optimized for image quality and print speed.
• With HP Smart Web Printing, you can easily print web pages and save both ink and paper by combining multiple web pages onto one printed page.

A Story that will evolve:

HP’s press release refers to it as being “an entirely new web-based printing platform with HP applications (apps).”   To me, it is sort of reminiscent of the days when laser printers ushered in the era of desktop publishing. The HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web has potential to change how we do, what we do for the better. It seems to be a convenience play. For HP, this is definitely positioning the company for the next decade of growth. Making the printer the “hub” of everyday life plus ensuring that it complements the smartphone devices for our on-the-go life, is a definitely a smart move on their part and makes the company relevant for years to come.

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[originally published at SF Examiner.com]