6 REASONS WHY HP's WEB-CONNECTED PRINTER WILL FAIL

[Anonymous]

http://www.channelinsider.com/c/a/Printers/6-Reasons-Why-HPs-WebConnected-Printer-Will-Fail-780980/          
6 Reasons Why HP`s Web-Connected Printer Will Fail
HP’s
new Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart connects directly to the
Internet and doesn’t require a computer to print documents. While a
neat idea, the long-term viability of this printer in the increasingly
digital, mobile world is questionable.Hewlett-Packard new Photosmart
Premium with TouchSmart aims to decouple the printer from the personal
computer and connect it directly to the Internet. The idea is to make
printing of routine Web-based documents such as airline boarding
passes, coupons and photos simple and efficient. But is the
Web-connected printer an automatic hit? Don’t bet on it, particularly
from a B2B channel perspective.Here are six reasons the Photosmart is
nothing to get excited over, and why it’s longterm future is likely
limited.

1. Paperless Environments
After two decades
of promises for the paperless office (much less the paperless home),
the world is finally moving toward eliminating paper. Enterprises are
rapidly seeking ways of eliminating paper-based processes and moving
toward more efficient and streamlined digital formats. Enterprise
Information Management, for example, developed a system for the U.S.
Army the eliminated the paper from annual performance reports of 1.7
million soldiers and civilian employees; the cost savings is $1 billion
annually. The home isn’t close to eliminating paper, but home users
will likely follow where their workplaces lead.
Resource Library:

2. Digital Documents
Airlines
are now experimenting with boarding passes displayed on smartphone
displays. Grocery and retail stores are piloting programs to have
coupons stored on electronic devices. Electronic book readers such as
Amazon’s Kindle can hold copious documents that have the same
presentation quality as paper. Netbooks and smartphones, such as the
Apple iPhone, are making it easier to store, retrieve and read
electronic documents without having to print hard copies. As the
adoption of mobile devices increases, the amount of paper carried by
people will likely decrease.

3. Printing Costs
Let’s
face it; printing is expensive – particularly on a color inkjet such as
the Photosmart. Kodak upset the consumer printer paradigm when it
launched a printer that sported low-cost cartridges; the idea being
that you pay for the hardware and not the consumables. Across the
industry, printer and print consumable sales are down because users are
trying to save money and conserve resources. Just because a printer is
connected to the Internet won’t make it any more affordable or
environmentally friendly.

4. Failed Applications
One
of the selling points for the Photosmart is that HP partners, such as
USA Today, will offer content that users can access and print on the
machine’s touch-screen. HP says users will be able to print off
newspaper and magazine articles to take on their commutes without
having to turn on their PCs. If history has taught us anything, users
don’t buy into such schemes. In the 1990s, a variety of software
publishers released applications that tapped into the nascent Internet
and downloaded articles that users expressed an interest in. All of
those apps have gone the way of the dodo bird as users gravitated
toward Web browsing and search engines.

5. Limited Use
While
commercial versions of the same technology have powerful workflow and
document sharing capabilities, the touch-screen on this printer will
not replace the experience of firing up a browser and surfing the Web.
Web users like options and choice. The Photosmart looks good for
retrieving and printing photos from HP’s Snapfish online photo service,
but will it give users options for locating and printing documents from
a variety of sites? Not today, and HP says it will take time to add
more partners that will publish sites friendly to the printer. By the
time HP reaches a critical pass of online partners, users may have
adopted a pure digital lifestyle.

6. It’s a Consumer/Retail Product
While
not everything has to go through the B2B channel, the Photosmart is
specifically geared toward big-box retailers and online consumer
electronics Websites. Solution providers will likely come across the
Photosmart in small offices they support, but this product will do
little to nothing in terms of helping small and midsized value-added
resellers who also service a large portion of the SOHO market. With no
value to VARs, VARs will be loathe to support it.

Granted, the
Photosmart is an interesting product and will likely do well enough to
help pull HP’s sluggish printer business out of the doldrums. However,
its long-term success in the increasingly digital world fueled by
ever-more powerful mobile devices is likely short lived.

[Author]

June 30, 2009 at 12:00 PM