Printing in a Smartphone Age
By ASHLEE VANCE
The New York Times June 6, 2010
SAN DIEGO - Vyomesh I. Joshi, the head of Hewlett-Packard's $24 billion printing empire, relaxes by taking long walks on the beaches near his home here. And, for a while, it seemed as if he might end up spending more time strolling the sand than moving ink and toner.
H.P.'s printing business deflated during the darkest days of the recession, producing plenty of gossip that Mr. Joshi would either leave the company or be fired. But sales have started to come back, and Mr. Joshi, who goes by V.J., is still around in fighting form. On Monday, he will preside over an event announcing H.P.'s latest attack on the printing market - which will center on printers built for the iPhone age.
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ObTelecom: Mobile devices have a sometimes-fatal shortcoming: they can't render output in a form that's usable to someone who doesn't have one.
On first glance, that's great news for mobile services: if I want to get a text message from you, then I have to have a mobile phone.
But what if I don't?
This isn't a case of digital one-upsmanship, or me looking down my digital nose at you: it can be caused by very real, and very important legal, ethical, and regulatory restrictions, as well as by cultural factors.
If that's the case, you need to print something on paper - or have someone else nearby to me who'll do it for a reasonable fee.
Bill Horne Moderator