Pros & Cons
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- Prints excellent photos.
- Detachable touch-screen controller doubles as basic tablet and eReader.
- HP Web apps and ePrint.
- Easy setup.
- Automatic duplexer.
- Fax.
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- No slot for USB key.
- Card reader limited to SD format.
HP Photosmart eStation Specs
| Claimed lifetime for photos - exposed: | 30 years |
| Claimed lifetime for photos - framed behind glass: | 60 years |
| Color or Monochrome: | 1-pass color |
| Connection Type: | USB |
| Connection Type: | Wireless |
| Cost Per Page (Color): | 7.9 cents |
| Cost Per Page (Mono): | 1.9 cents |
| Direct Printing from Cameras: | Yes (via cable) |
| Direct Printing from Media Slots: | Secure Digital |
| Duty Cycle: | 1250 pages per month |
| Ink Jet Type: | Photo All-Purpose |
| Input Capacity (printer input only): | 125 sheets |
| LCD Preview Screen: | Yes |
| Maximum Scan Area: | 8.5" x 11.7" |
| Maximum Standard Paper Size: | Legal |
| Network-Ready: | Yes |
| Number of Cartridges: | 5 |
| Number of Ink Colors: | 5 |
| Print Duplexing: | Yes |
| Printer Category: | Ink Jet |
| Scanner Optical Resolution: | 4800 pixels per inch |
| Scanner Type: | Flatbed |
| Standalone Copier and Fax: | Copier |
| Standalone Copier and Fax: | Fax |
| Tech Support: | www.hp.com (800) 474-6836 One year limited hardware backed by HP Customer Care. One year technical phone support. |
| Type: | All-In-One |
| Water/smudge proof or resistant: | Yes |
The HP PhotoSmart eStation ($399 direct) is a multifunction printer
The eStation can print, copy, scan, and fax, as well as scan to e-mail. It can run HP's Web apps and has ePrint capabilities: You can e-mail files as attachments to a unique address that HP assigns to the printer, and the eStation will print out the e-mail and files.
Glossy black with curved edges, the eStation measures 9.4 by 16.1 by 18.3 inches (HWD), and weighs 17.4 pounds. The dock for the Zeen is at front left, above the paper trays, which include a 125-sheet main paper tray and a 20-sheet photo tray. The eStation adds an automatic duplexer for printing on both sides of a sheet of paper. The eStation has no port for a USB key, and its card reader—located on the top edge of the Zeen—is limited to SD format.
The eStation can be used with either a USB or a Wi-Fi connection; we tested the printer over a USB connection to a computer running Windows Vista, and the controller's functions over Wi-Fi.
The Controller
The Zeen controller's home screen features Barnes & Noble, Yahoo Weather, and HP Web apps, and at the bottom are icons for Printer, Internet, Facebook, HP Gallery, Daily Digest, and E-mail. When you insert an SD card in the slot, the photos show up in the HP Gallery. I printed photos from both HP Gallery and Facebook. You can configure it to receive and send e-mail for a variety of ISPs.
The Zeen runs an 800MHz processor, has 512 MB of memory, and 4GB of internal storage. Its 7-inch screen has a resolution of 800 by 480. Although the Zeen runs Android 2.1, it uses HP's TouchSmart home screen rather than the Android interface, and can't run Android apps. As a tablet, the eStation Zeen is primitive compared with the
As an ebook reader, the Zeen lets you buy, download, and read ebooks from B&N's Nookbook store. The Zeen does a credible job as an eReader, though the screen is a bit on the bright side, and the type isn't particularly sharp. You can change type size, add notes, search, and print text out.
Performance and Quality>
In printing out our new business applications suite (as timed with QualityLogic's hardware and software), the eStation showed respectable speed, taking 4 minutes 21 seconds to finish. This slightly lagged the
Although the eStation is clearly geared to home use, it packs in extras not always found in home MFPs, such as fax capabilities and an automatic duplexer, not to mention ePrint. It could double as a home-office printer, though the 125-sheet paper capacity is on the meager size. It prints magnificent photos, and its graphics and text quality are more than good enough for standard uses. The Zeen controller is a nice extra, particularly for someone lacking an ebook reader.
The eStation's photos were excellent. Prints were suitable for framing; the only minor issue worth mention was a very slight tint on a monochrome photo, and a tendency for straight lines, like the spokes on a bicycle wheel, to appear not quite razor-edged. The eStation's text was good enough for anything short of a professional-looking document such as a resume, and you wouldn't want to use it for documents with very small type. Graphics were easily good enough for standard business uses, including PowerPoint handouts.
On the downside, the eStation lacks a port for a USB key and a range of supported memory cards of some of its peers. And money will be an obstacle to some customers. You could get a very capable Web-enabled MFP in the HP PhotoSmart Premium e-All-in-One for half the price (or you could get the PhotoSmart Premium plus a top-notch ebook reader like the
The eStation completes the breakout of the printer of its traditional role as a PC peripheral and makes it a family-room device that need not be yoked to a PC (though most people will still do so). It earns our first Editors' Choice as a Web-enabled printer capable of standalone operation. It can connect not only to your PC but also to the Web at large; print recipes, coloring-book pages, and more through HP's Web apps; print photos off of Facebook and your own pictures from HP Gallery; and print text from ebooks (as well as let you read them on-screen). Just be sure not to drop or lose the controller, or you'll lose much of the eStation's functionality with it.
BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS
COMPARISON TABLE
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