Google first outlined the idea of ‘Cloud Print’ back in November. The service would let you print from a browser anywhere – your phone, for example, to an assigned printer. There was one problem – you couldn’t actually buy a printer that supported it.
Today that’s changed as HP has announced a new range of printers that support Cloud Print out of the box.
Cloud Print is an important step to Google making Chrome OS and Android a better fit for enterprise deployment. As the company notes: “Imagine printing an important email from your Chrome notebook on your train ride to work, then finding the completed printout in the printer tray when you reach the office. Or printing your airline boarding pass from your smartphone to your home printer, so you can grab the printout on your way out the door.”
Chrome OS and the mobile versions of Gmail and Google Docs already support Cloud Print, so if you pick up one of HP’s new printers you can get going right away.
Further support is available in the form of a third-party Android app, Chrome extension and Firefox add-on, while the latest Windows and Mac beta versions of Chrome feature Cloud Print Connector to help non-Cloud Print printers use the service.
Google says that in the next few days it will enable printer sharing, letting multiple users print to the same printer.
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