Yesterday HP released their “HP ePrint service App” in the iPhone App Store.
The app uses HP’s cloud printing service named the HP ePrint Enterprise solution. The result being users can print on an existing network via a HP Managed Print Services engagement or thousands of HP ePrint Mobile Print Locations all over the world. Although this service has been available for some time for Blackberry devices, to me this release shows the company believes there is untapped potential in cloud printing.
At present the ePrint Service seems to be geared towards businesses rather than the general public however it is not unreasonable to expect it to develop in the near future. However Android users will be happy to learn of the Google Cloud Print app available here that allows users to print wireless from the browser to a networked printer.
The future of cloud printing looks uncertain and will depend upon how widely it is adopted by home and business users alike. The big problem seems to be that developers seem unsure how to develop the technology so that it is useful to users in general. I personally have never had cause to use such a service and whenever I have something I need printing for business have never begrudged logging into my email client from the nearest computer to do so.
Have you ever used cloud printing technology? If so what exactly were the circumstances?
