Next-Gen Bluetooth Printing

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.printdreams.com/' target='_blank'>http://www.printdreams.com/</a><br /><br /></div>PrintDreams has developed the prototype for a very cool mobile printing solution.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20030630-PrintDreams.jpg" /><br /><br />Apparently, there's no motor -- just by running your hand over a piece of paper with this tiny device (designed to be small enough to fit in a shirt pocket), it'll make impressions on paper. Also, the device is designed to talk to devices that need printing services via Bluetooth. As of this moment, it doesn't seem to be a release product -- the company is looking for a manufacturer to bring it to market -- but I think it could be very useful if it lives up to the hype.

[droppedd]

wow! i'll bet it works almost as well as handheld scanners did! :roll:
I'll believe it when i see it... meantime, I find the HP or Canon mobile printers to be a decent solution, color and good on a battery for a few hundred pages, with a sheet feeder... but then again, i miniature bluetooth printer might be good for a few more limited applications, like label printing or envelope printing in small volumes. It'd need to have some pretty nifty PPC software to print out nice labels though.

[sponge]

The cool thing is, it'll print on any hard surface I believe. Heh, a new form of graffiti?

[droppedd]

i forsee a new method of pranking... 5th graders inkjetting "KICK ME" onto fellow students' shirts :twisted:

[droppedd]

I just read about this in an article (http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/102/C1791/)from mobilemag.com - it appears they're aiming for release in 2005, assuming any OEMs pick it up. Guess you'll be waiting a while for one of these babies, especially considering the people with the ideas behind it have intense motivation to wildly underestimate the timeframe involved in this sort of thing.

it might eventually show up, who knows... this is the kind of thing that will actually live up to the useful aspects of bluetooth, a woefully overhyped technology with more headaches than useful compatible products.

[surur]

I think this is incredibly cool. Remember "Demolition man", with Mr Stallone, where they have graffiti spray-machines that did whole logos? This would be just like that, and you dont have to wait 500 years even!

On a more practical level, now you only have to carry a small printer with you, and assume your client has paper (instead of a compatible printer).

It basically means any document you have stored on your PPC can be hard-copied in seconds, instead of faffing around trying to find a printer. This could just make our toys a whole lot more useful!

Surur

[Skitals]

this is the kind of thing that will actually live up to the useful aspects of bluetooth, a woefully overhyped technology with more headaches than useful compatible products.

Um... well if I have one good use for bluetooth its good enough for me. Im in love with my Socket BT GPS receiver and I think it's a perfect application for bluetooth. I dont care if there are no other BT devices in the future ever, bluetooth works for me 8)

My brother has that bluetooth keyboard/mouse for his desktop, and if you ask me its awsome. Im usually reclined here in my chair when I'm browsing but have to sit up ever time I need to type. I really wish I could just pick up my keyboard and put it on my lap without worrying about tangling wires.

Playstation 3 is going to have bluetooth... my guess is for the controllers. Im a big xbox fan, and I HATE controllers cause I always yank it and it gets unplugged or something, and the wires get all tangled and its a big mess. I think thats another perfect bluetooth application.

And of course BT phones. My wireless carrier is Verizon so Im not graced with a BT phone, but I have been tempted to switch to a gsm carrier with worse service just to have BT on my cell. Would be awsome with my 5455.

I dont think bluetooth was over hyped, and I dont think it is headaches. I have never had a problem with my ipaq, GPS receiver, or my brothers keyboard/mouse. Its all the ease and simplicity you would expect from a pda, gps, kb/mouse, just without wires.

[droppedd]

i don't know - i hear a lot from people (ie jason dunn) who can't get BT to work between their PC and PPC.
Also, MS's BT keyboard/mouse aren't compatible with other BT recievers and its receiver is incompatible with PPCs and most other devices, making it no better than any of the proprietary wireless kbd/mouse technologies that other manufacturers use (although MS's solution is at least 2x the cost of most other brands, go figure).
And as you stated, many cell phone companies don't even offer bluetooth phones. If they made a BT keyboard that wasn't proprietary (ie i could use it with my 2210, or with a tablet PC, or with... anything with an arbitrarily branded bluetooth dongle on it), i would like it a lot better. If they made a headset that didn't look like a giant spider had attached itself to your ear, i would like it better. As it stands, I don't see much in the way of useful current applications of Bluetooth. The GPS would be one example of a good use... but then again, i don't have a car :lol:. This isn't to say it's useless - just not terribly matured. I mean, MS's bluetooth receiver is incompatible with all the PPCs running its own OS due to profile issues. 802.11x seems to be less of a headache (i know, different applications, but still), and i'd rather my 2210 have wi-fi, just because I know i'd use that more (many of the buildings on campus are wired for wi-fi).

I guess my point really is, Bluetooth hasn't, in the most part, lived up to its promise of universal connections, conflict-free, from device to device, and it's that universality that would justify the added cost over proprietary wireless technology (like the ones used by most wireless keyboards).

The PS3 sounds like that could be quite the killer app for BT - swapping out wireless controllers, mice, kbds, even BT hard drives... but then Sony would have to opt to take the route MS didn't, making it not only BT but compatible easily with existing BT products. But until then, I don't personally have much use for it.

[Skitals]

I doubt sony would make ps3 compatible with other bt devices (other keyboards and stuff) forcing you to buy a sony keyboard, etc. I was thinking it would be interesting to use the ipaq as a ps3 controller 8) But even if you can't use non sony BT items, its still a more elegant solution then wires all over the place.

Good point about the ms kb/mouse and the dongle. I guess if you look at it as a standalone unit it does its job and does it well, its just not cross compatible. I dont do bluetooth between my pc and ppc... I use the ipaq's wifi for all that :) Much faster anyway.

The gps is sweet. I was thinking about getting one of the ipaq gps sleeves, but then I would be tied down to the ipaq and its current form factor. I want to stay away from 'mouse' recievers because then you have wires running all over the car, and I like my car looking nice. The BT gps made perfect sense... compatible with any bt device that supports serial profile. That way I can use it with a pocket pc, a palm, a laptop, etc and never have to buy an adaptor or buy a new reciever.

For any honda fans out there (new rims will be here tomorrow):

http://plugim.com/navid/data/media/1/justin.jpg

[jeffmd]

I belive this is a heat transfer printer. being handheld leaves like no room for ink. also selling your own custome ink carts is another risky buisness option. On the other hand heat paper is plentifull and works on all heat transfer printers, and requires no ink.

[garrans]

Heat transfer printing sucks.... its temporary ! If I want a physical copy of something, then I need real ink