Articles

HP introduces Officejet 150 all-in-one mobile printer, Photosmart 5520 — Engadget

My comments

As most of us know, desktop multifunction printers which have an integrated scanner have been around with us for a long time and are a popular primary-use printer type. They have worked well also as photocopiers and, in an increasing number of cases, fax machines which are more cost-effective than the cheap thermal-transfer plain-paper faxes that some small businesses use,

But this device class hasn’t become of benefit to the mobile user. Some of these users may require a document to be printed out for the customer to sign as part of the workflow such as a quote-acceptance or job-completion handover form. Here they don’t want to have a pile of these documents occupying space in the briefcase or van before they head “back to base” to process and file them.

Typically, these users either had to buy a mobile printer and a mobile scanner if they wanted to be able to print and scan hard-copy documents on the road. Canon previously offered a scanning attachment for their BJC-80 mobile printers but required the user to install the attachment in the printer if they wanted to scan.

But now HP have offered the OfficeJet 150 mobile multifunction printer which I see as a game changer. It can work in a similar manner to the direct-connect multifunction desktop printer and can link with a regular computer via USB or Bluetooth. Of course it has what used to be known as “three-way” power where it can be run from AC, a rechargeable battery pack or your vehicle’s cigar-lighter socket. Infact the unit does come with the rechargeable battery pack as well as the AC adaptor and the car adaptor can be obtained through HP.

There is the ability to perform driverless printing from PictBridge-enabled cameras and selected (non-Apple) smartphones. But if this is to work with most mobile devices, HP could modify the ePrint Home & Biz app to use Bluetooth as well as Wi-Fi wireless for the device connection. Similarly this printer doesn’t support Apple’s AirPrint ecosystem for their iOS devices because this technology is pitched at network connectivity as the main link.

On the other hand, HP could develop and supply an “ePrint / AirPrint” kit with an 802.11n Wi-Fi interface that connects to this printer. This could be set to work as a wireless network adaptor for existing Wi-Fi networks or as an access point for quick-set-up arrangements where there isn’t a wireless router in place.

As I have read through the press material on this device, the HP OfficeJet 150, like all mobile inkjet printers that have been released so far, is a two-cartridge colour printer. This means that colour printing can be very costly on these setups because if you run out of one colour, you have to throw away a cartridge that has plenty of the other colours. This class of printer could be improved upon with the use of a four-cartridge colour printing setup in order to provide the same level of economy as a well-bred desktop multifunction inkjet printer.

What I see of this is an effort to provide tradesmen, travelling salesmen and other similar workers with a lightweight portable device that works with workflows that require heavy use of hard copy and quick-turnaround documents.

Article

Lenovo ThinkPad USB 3.0 dock lends its ports to your deprived laptop via DisplayLink, available May 15th for $180 — Engadget

My Comments

I have previously talked about on this site about the concept of standards-common expansion modules for use with laptops, especially Ultrabooks. These devices, also known as docking stations, would have connections for peripherals that you would typically used at your desk like larger displays, Ethernet network connections or work-specific peripherals.

Infoact one of these devices was part of an ultraportable laptop that I had reviewed, namely the Sony VAIO Z Series unit; and this one included a slot-load optical-disc drive that reads Blu-Ray Discs.

Now Lenovo have presented the ThinkPad USB 3.0 Dock, which connects to the host laptop using a USB 3.0 connection, already common on most laptops including higher-priced Ultrabooks. But it exploits the higher data throughput of USB 3.0 to allow for more than what one would typically expect from these devices.

For example, the expansion module is a network adaptor for Cat5 Gigabit Ethernet networks and an external sound module as well as a self-powered USB 3.0 hub for five peripherals. The self-powered USB hub also has the advantage of supplying power to USB peripherals independently of the host computer so that you could charge up smartphones and other gadgets or use it as a power supply for USB-driven gadgets.

But it uses DisplayLink technology to use the USB 3.0 connection to drive external displays while using the host computer’s graphics subsystem. This can encourage us to use the large displays with these laptops without needing to connecting them to the computer itself.

What I would like about this expansion module and any expansion modules designed along this line is that it isn’t dependent on the laptop being a Lenovo ThinkPad model at all, let alone a Lenovo unit. Compared to the Sony solution which exploited a proprietary “Light Path” setup over USB 3.0, this could be used with computers that use any USB 3.0 port.

This is more so as the next generation of Ultrabooks come with USB 3.0 ports integrated in to them but may have two or three of these ports as well as fewer connections for other wired peripherals. Infact the more of these devices that exist, the better it would be for people who use “work-home” laptops or 13” ultraportabls as travel/desk computers/

Article

thinkbroadband :: Openreach in technical trial to test micro-filters with FTTC service

My comments

Previously ADSL required a truck-roll to the customer’s premises to provide the service. Here, the technician installs a DSL line splitter at the line’s entry point and a socket for the ADSL modem. Now installs don’t need a technician to visit unless they are difficult or sophisticated setups like dealing with business phone systems or monitored security systems.

Typically, the customer installs a micro-filter or ADSL line splitter on each phone device and connects the ADSL modem-router to a socket that doesn’t have a micro-filter attached to it or connects the modem to the ADSL or DATA port of the line splitter. In most cases, we tend to use DSL line splitters rather than line filters at each phone socket. This can allow us to move the ADSL modem-router around as needed to suit different living arrangements or simply to relocate the wireless router for best performance.

Most fibre-copper next-generation broadband setups such as FTTC, FTTN or FTTB typically will implement VDSL2 but this is a different kettle of fish when it comes to provision. Here, a technician still visits the premises to put in a VDSL2 central splitter and run Ethernet-grade cable to where the VDSL2 modem-router would be installed.

BT Openreach are trialing the use of selected line filters and splitters as a way of providing self-installation of VDSL2-based fibre-copper setups. They are assessing these for radio and audio interference and degradation of data throughput with the commonly-used line filters attached to existing phone equipment.

Initially, the tests will be based around professionally-installed setups, but they will move towards self-install setups. It could also then give the same level of flexibility that we have enjoyed with ADSL2 equipment.

These tests could be observed by other countries and companies interesting in deploying fibre-copper next-generation broadband that uses VDSL2 technology; but can also be used as a way of justifying these setups over fibre-to-the-premises setups.

Articles

Clarion Next Gate hands-on (video) – Engadget

Clarion Next Gate puts iPhone control, app integration on your windshield | CNet Reviews

Clarion Next Gate brings iPhone apps (and distractions) to your windshield | Engadget

My Comments

The CTIA mobile-technology show in the US has become a launch-pad for Clarion’s “Next Gate” car hands-free kit.

The kit works in a similar manner to Pioneer’s “AppRadio” concept, where an iPhone that has a specific handler app is connected to the car-audio system and selected apps are exposed to the car-audio system’s touchscreen display and control surface.

But this unit implements it in the form of a “walk-up” hands-free kit that has the main unit temporarily mounted in the car and powered from the vehicle’s cigar lighter and connected to the auxiliary input of an existing car stereo. 

There are a few questions that need to be answered concerning these car-audio setups. One is why the device doesn’t support a Bluetooth device class or application to permit this kind of “remoting” of specific applications held on a platform smartphone, such as Internet-audio, navigation and traffic-information apps from an external control surface. This may help with people who may not want to bother cabling up the smartphone to this device.

Of course there is already a standard available to the market for this kind of remote control of smartphones from a dashboard-based control surface. This is in the form of MirrorLink, valued by an increasing number of other vehicle infotainment companies operating in the OEM and aftermarket space, and Samsung is running with this standard in their latest Galaxy S III smartphone.

But Clarion and Pioneer may prefer having these devices work as a discrete user interface to the apps themselves and the data they expose rather than the phone as a device. This may provide the ability for the device manufacturers like them to have greater control over what apps appear on these devices.

If the direct-app-link approach is preferred for vehicle-smartphone integration rather than the “terminal” approach offered by MirrorLink, the industry could work on a standard for facilitating this kind of link.

Articles

Sony Vaio T ultrabook announced (in Europe for now) | Windows 8 – CNET Reviews

My Comments

Previously, I had reviewed the Sony VAIO Z Series ultraportable which had all the “bells and whistles” for this class of computer. This included a uber-luxury styling as well as an expansion module with discrete graphics and a Blu-Ray drive for the most-expensive model.

Now Sony have announced in to Europe the VAIO T Series as a down-to-earth ultraportable secondary computer that most people could think of purchasing. There will be an 11” unit as well as a 13” unit that was highlighted; as well as variants being equipped with either the Intel i3, i5 or i7 processors. They are even offering variants that have 320Gb hard disk + 32Gb SSD in a similar vein to the Acer Aspire S3 that I reviewed as well as some that use solid-state only for their secondary storage.

One feature that is also impressive is that they will be “Bluetooth Smart Ready” as in having a Bluetooth 4.0 interface for “Bluetooth Smart” sensor devices. This may also make it feasible to develop standards-compliant wireless mice and keyboards that can work for a long time on a pair of regular AA batteries; as well as working with other Bluetooth-based sensor / control devices such as those used for personal health.

Personally, what I would like to see Sony do is to have these Ultrabooks able to work with an optional expansion module that has an optical drive and extra USB connections at least.

But this is a strong effort by Sony to make their VAIO computer range more “granular” with a large number of different model classes suiting different needs. This is in a similar way that Mercedes-Benz had made their passenger-car lineup more “granular” with a large number of vehicle models.

A common task that I have had to help people with lately is when they use an instant messaging service or the messaging function in a social-network service to send a message that is to be handled further. This is more so with people who rely heavily on Facebook as their online communications medium and start to forget their email address.

For example, it may be a message that is to be sent to somebody by email or to be printed out in order to be signed then sent by postal mail or fax. This includes messages that contain “boilerplate text” that is to be modified with further information before being sent or printed out.

Most instant-messaging or social-network messaging user interfaces don’t have a way of allowing you to print out or select the text of a particular message. This is typically frustrated by the “conversation” view that these user interfaces show the messages in, and this problem can be made worse by hard-to-manipulate user interfaces like laptop trackpads or touchscreens.

What do you do?

Here, it would be preferable that if you are talking with a correspondent via a service like Facebook, make sure that each of you know each other’s email address, not just the “handle” or member-name for these messaging services.

Then, send the message that is to be “taken further” to the correspondent using email rather than the message system. Infact you compose the message to be taken further using your email software or Webmail user interface. The correspondent can then print out that message or copy it to their word-processing software for modification and printing out.

Introduction

I previously reviewed the Brother HL-4150CDN high-speed single-pass desktop colour laser printer and have been looking to review colour laser printers with a similar feature set (Ethernet networking, high-speed colour printing, auto-duplex printing) to this model that I reviewed. The first competing model that came along with this basic function set is the HP LaserJet Pro 400 which I am now reviewing. It is known as the M451dn but is also available as the M451dw which has integrated 802.11g/n Wi-Fi wireless connectivity.

It is equipped with the HP ePrint email-to-print function, yet is able to, like other printers in this class, turn out colour print jobs as fast as monochrome print jobs for this class of printer.

Of course it is also very interesting about the way HP are positioning this printer in a very confusing purchase environment as they are promoting their high-end “OfficeJet Pro” business inkjet printers like the OfficeJet Pro 8600 Series as being as cost-effective, if not cheaper, to run as a colour laser printer. This in fact affects how they position and price the LaserJet printers and the consumables available for them.

Prices

Printer

The machine’s standard price: AUD$599

Optional Extras:

High-capacity paper tray: AUD$145

Inks and Toners

The printer itself

Setup and initial observations

The HP LaserJet Pro 400 Series printer is the first single-pass high-speed colour laser that I have reviewed here that uses the Integrated toner-drum print cartridges rather than a separately-replaceable drum unit. There may be benefits and caveats to this approach such as running costs or design abilities for this class of printer.

Like most of the these colour laser printers, this printer uses a drawer for loading and unloading the colour print cartridges. This makes them easier to replace and the process isn’t very messy as well as avoiding the use of “clamshell” designs with lids that can be hard to open.

The network connectivity works properly for all Ethernet-based wired networks and you could even have it plugged in to a HomePlug powerline network adaptor at the end of one of these networks for a reliable no-new-wires network setup. As well, it is a future-proof network printer with integrated dual–stack support for IPv6.

Walk-up and mobile-device functions

Control panel

This printer has the ePrint email-to-print functionality which I have given plenty of space to but you need to instantiate and manage this function from a regular computer on the network. It could benefit from having on-off or “reset” functionality managed from the printer’s control-panel menu like on the HP LaserJet Pro M1536.

As well, it can work properly with the HP ePrint Home & Biz mobile app for the mobile platforms as well as having inherent support for Apple’s AirPrint iOS mobile-printing effort.

This printer has a “quick-form” printout functionality so you can print out graph paper, notepaper, music staves and similar ruled paper from the machine’s control panel. It still has the same options that have been available across all HP printers equipped with this feature.

Computer functions

The printer uses the same “Smart Install” feature that the HP LaserJet P1560 and the LaserJet M1212 that I previously reviewed here use. This has the driver held in the printer’s firmware and you install the driver to your computer by pointing to the printer’s Web page or to a virtual drive letter and downloading the software from there. This kind of setup can be augmented through the printer checking for and downloading the latest driver software from HP’s Website at regular intervals so that subsequent users have the latest driver software.

The driver software is still easy to use, using the same “preset” methods as had often been the case with other HP driver programs. Even the printing options for duplex or booklet printing are highlighted with a graphic of how the finished document will come out when printed and how you bind it.

Print speed, quality and reliability

Integrated print cartridges in the printer tray

The print speed for the HP LaserJet Pro 400 Series printer is the same high speed for colour jobs as it is for monochrome jobs using the same paper.

The auto-duplex function could be more efficient with any multi-page or multi-copy jobs. It doesn’t match the Brother HL-4150CDN on this aspect where the Brother could effectively process two sides of two sheets at once.

As well, this LaserJet printer also exhibits a registration problem on the page’s vertical axis where the back of the page is printed significantly higher than the front. It may be limited to this demonstration sample but can be of concern with some desktop-publishing tasks where the back of the document has to line up with the front, such as “cut-out” or “odd-shape” projects like tags and door-hangers. But it wouldn’t be of importance when you turn out booklets or regular documents because of the various margins allowed in the layouts.

I have performed a 100-page auto-duplex print run using regular paper and this printer has been able to complete the job reliably which means that it could satisfy heavier tasks more easily.

The documents that came out of the HP LaserJet Pro 400 Series colour laser printer were the same ultra-sharp output expected out of a good-quality office colour laser printer. The printer was even able to show up the detail very well in documents that had this.

When it came to printing photos through this laser printer using regular office paper, I was expecting a dark image with poor contrast. But I had seen the HP LaserJet Pro 400 Series turn out images that have the same contrast as a good-quality business inkjet when given plain paper. It tended to be heavier with the green on an image that used a contrasting pale-green and bright-red features while it didn’t run a dominant pink overcast image on a group shot of people. This would appeal to those of us who are turning out quick proofs of photographic material.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

One sore point that I have noticed with the HP LaserJet Pro 400 Series (M451dn) is the consumables, namely the print cartridges. Here, HP could offer high-capacity colour print cartridges as well as the standard colour print cartridges, which they could reduce the price on. They do offer the high-capacity black print cartridge which yields twice the number of pages for approximately AUD$30 extra but the colour cartridges are still of importance especially if you do a lot of “full-bleed” colour or turn out a lot of material in your business’s trade dress.

The printer could use high-capacity flash memory, preferably the SDHC cards, for holding job queues, especially if it is  expected to be a business workhorse. As well, a feature that a lot of competing dedicated colour laser printers do offer is a USB socket for “walk-up” printing from USB memory keys or digital cameras.

But, as I have explained previously, I would definitely like to see improvements with the automatic duplexer especially in its throughput and its front-back vertical-registration behaviour.

Similarly, I would like to see a menu option available from the printer’s control panel that allows you to turn the ePrint feature on an off from that particular control surface. This would allow you to stop the ePrint service overnight when you close up your premises or suspend use if it if you find that it could be misused. It could also benefit from a “confidential print” option where you have to enter a code at the printer to print out the job.

Conclusion and Placement Notes

If you value ePrint email-to-print, prefer an integrated-print-cartridge laser-printer design and have moderate workload expectations, I would recommend you purchase this unit and run it with the high-capacity black print cartridges. Otherwise, I would go for the Brother HL-4150CDN if you are valuing a cost-effective heavy-duty printing machine that excels on double-sided printing throughput.