ActivePrint Printing Solution for Windows Mobile Devices

[Pete Paxton]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://pocketwatchsoftware.com/ActivePrintBlog/' target='_blank'>http://pocketwatchsoftware.com/ActivePrintBlog/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"ActivePrint is the award winning mobile printing solution for the Windows Mobile operating system. With ActivePrint, Windows Mobile users are given the invaluable capability of printing from their mobile devices to any Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista compatible printer without the necessity of wireless hardware. By using software on your desktop or notebook PC, ActivePrint gives you the capability to print as many as 80 different document types, as opposed to most other mobile printing solutions which only support a handful of document types. All that is needed is a Windows Mobile device, a desktop/notebook, a printer, and a document to print."</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Paxton-20070605-activeprint.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><br />Now I've only been using the trial of ActivePrint for about a day but I must say I am impressed so far. I am able to print a variety of documents from my Dash from anywhere in my house wirelessly using my WiFi connection. There is software to install on your desktop or laptop pc and a small ActivePrint client to install on your Windows Mobile 5 or 6 device. The program is easy to use and basically sets itself up so there's not much configuring. It supports 80 different document types so chances are you can print what you need to. There is a 7 day trial for a fully functional version and pricing ranges from $19.99 - $39.99 depending on your printing needs. If you've been looking for a way to print from your Windows Mobile device, ActivePrint may be it.

[Mike Temporale]

Very cool. However, how often do you need to print from your phone? I can't recall the last time I wanted to do that. :?

[Pete Paxton]

Interesting you ask that, I often will type up simple lessons on my Dash when I'm out and about without my computer. It's great to then come home and simply print the lesson without having to go through AS or a card reader. I don't think it's for everyone and I won't use it everyday but I like the fact I can print when I want.

[Jason Dunn]

I think this is one of those solutions that, for 99% of the people using these devices isn't important, but for that 1%, it's critical. So while I wouldn't use this myself, it's great that Windows Mobile as a platform has a solution like this.

[kerrins]

How is it that the manufacturers of printers don't just make their driver have a PDA/Smartphone driver? It's very unlikely that I would print directly from a phone but I certainly won't do it for $20 or more.

[Jason Dunn]

How is it that the manufacturers of printers don't just make their driver have a PDA/Smartphone driver?

It's a demand issue - as you pointed out, you and most people don't need to print from a mobile device very often, so putting the development resources into making printer drivers for 0.0001% of the user base doesn't make sense. Heck, many of us had to wait months for Vista drivers! ;-)