One of the big impressions (no pun intended) I'm taking away from the HP (NYSE HPQ) press and analyst event wrapping up today is the company's emphasis on wireless printing.
While other suppliers -- Brother and Lexmark (NYSE LXK) come to mind -- may have been ahead on WiFi-enabled printers at one point in time (see my November 2007 Observations, "Wi-Fi Printing -- Look Ma, No Cables"), HP has filled the void in a rush, claiming 75% market share, higher than even the typical 40%-60% share commonly held by the company in many consumer and business printer categories.
In Tuesday's Consumer and Small Business Solutions keynote by Senior VP Stephen Nigro, made wireless printing a key theme, along with new or revamped services Creative Studio and Marketsplash. In the simultaneous press release, the company announced the following:
HP also introduced new wireless printers and committed to expand the entire HP Photosmart printer lineup with wireless capabilities by 2010. Highlighting the new models is the Limited Edition HP Photosmart C4599 All-in-One , which features a sleek design and piano-black finish to match HP Pavilion notebook computers. Notebook PC sales have increased by 50 percent each year since 2006,(2) presenting a large opportunity for HP to attach wireless printers at the point of sale.
HP’s new lineup of wireless printers includes three models that allow customers to print with ease from anywhere in the home.(3) The HP Photosmart C4500 All-in-One Series , the Limited Edition HP Photosmart C4599 All-in One and the HP Photosmart C6300 All-in-One Series offer built-in wireless capabilities(3) and are available for $129, $149 and $199, respectively.(4)
(2) Source: MAP, PSG Market Model, Final 1H07, Forrester 2007.
(3) Wireless performance is dependent upon physical environment and distance from access point.
(4) Estimated U.S. street prices. Actual prices may vary.
Hmmm, a printer in "piano black"...wonder where HP got that idea??? Oh yeah, that HP laptop...
Comments
Of course the HP really does match their notebook too...
I wonder if any of the major brand will ever address the real problem in small and medium office printing - cutting, binding and finishing.
They all seem to be ignoring it as all we want to print are loose stacks of A4s.