HP and Lexmark Add a New Dimension to Printers
Printers have a special feature that probably none of the other gadgets can imitate. They are expandable; like crazy. Printers started as a device that can print what is fed into it. A scanner was added onto it to leverage upon the empty space that was left unused on the top surface. A combination of a printing unit and a scanning unit gave rise to a copier. Telephony was added onto this device and combined would act as a fax machine.
Even though we have seen all these advancements, sales have steadily dipped, with the obvious reason; recession. Printer manufacturers were forced to wear their thinking hats and out came the already enhanced device with added features such as ability to browse the net. Some manufacturers (HP) took this step to the next level with an application downloader utility.
Lexmark and HP have announced that their next range of printers will connect to the internet and users can browse the internet through the printers and even print things off of it. HP has confirmed that it will clone the iPhone in giving users the access to download applications from an online store.
Industry experts believe that this enhancement may lead a much needed recovery in the printer market. We have our doubts and believe that the move will do more bad than good. With the tiny LCD screens offered on printers, users are hand forced to print items for better visibility. This will definitely be looked upon as an anti-green initiative but will fill the coffers of the HPs and Lexmarks.
About the author:
Abhinav has been blogging about printing and related technologies on CreativeCloud for several years. He is also a project manager for a large technology company.
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