The parade of small technological wonders goes on. Hewlett Packard’s recent release of the HP Officejet H470 adds another option for travelers, although probably more for those driving or taking the train. The printer, which lists for $249 with a $25 rebate through March 31, weighs 4.6 pounds, which is a fair amount for fliers.
But there are times when you need printing on the road, and the H470 would appear to be the best option if you want to duplicate the quality of a regular color inkjet printer. I’ve seen other portable printers that are tiny, but these rely on thermal printing, which requires special paper, thus added expense. The inkjet has proven itself and, with this product, HP has miniaturized it quite nicely.
Setup for the H470 was relatively straightforward: Unpack the unit, connect via the supplied USB cable, and load the software into the computer, in this instance an Apple IMac. HP supplied both optional $40 Bluetooth and $80 Wi-Fi modules for wireless connectivity with a computer, which can be handy on the road. Snap in the ink cartridges, load some paper, and you are ready.
Print quality is equal to the HP 6940 printer that sits on my desk at work. If I were on the road and had to run off something in a hurry, I wouldn’t be concerned using this device. If you need quality printing while on the road, the H470 is a very good choice; more information at www.hp.com.
• When a friend first saw the $199 (list) SimpleTech Marshmallow Mini USB portable — and, yes, it has the word “marshmallow” in its name — she thought it was a computer mouse of some stripe. This 250 gigabyte hard-disk drive isn’t really as small as a mouse, but its sleek lines, courtesy of Italian designer Pininfarina, make it look cool.
Coolness, of course, isn’t enough to make a good backup drive. The Marshmallow Mini achieves its goodness because not only is it small, but in part because it draws its power from a USB port or two on a given computer. If the unit doesn’t get enough “juice” from one port, a supplied “Y” cable will connect to a second USB for power. That means no separate adapter is necessary, and that’s great when doing backups on the road.
Not every computer will need the “Y” cable; Apple’s new MacBook Air gave enough power through its sole USB port to run the drive.
SimpleTech offers backup software called “Fabrik,” which can also tie into an online storage of the same name. In moving files between computers, I found the Marshmallow Mini to be a great little product well worth the cost. I wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without a way to backup my hard drive and now, with this product, I don’t have to.
Details can be found at www.fabrik.com; the drives are also sold by a variety of online retailers.
• Crumpler is a company whose laptop bags, knapsacks and other items have caught on in a number of places. The firm sent along their “Tony Blair Special,” a laptop bag designed to note the recent retirement of the British prime minister; his image is on the bag’s inside liner.
What does figure is that the bag, though a tad pricey at $80, is a great way to tote around a small portable computer, 13 to 15 inches, and accessories. Its blue-and-orange cover will stand out in a crowd, and the padding is more than adequate. I’m thinking of another Crumpler for my 17-inch notebook. More information is available at www.crumplerbags.com.
• Read Mark Kellner’s Tech blog at https://video1.washingtontimes.com/technology.
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