HP Entering TV Category

Miami — Echoing themes first aired during her CES keynote, Hewlett-Packard's CEO Carly Fiorina unveiled a slate of new digital entertainment and imaging products intended to further her strategy of moving the company from “products to experiences.”

Fiorina officially launched HP's set of video products (see story, below) at a press conference held here. In addition to customizable iPod 'tattoos', the company's first branded ink products, new paper and media debuted with digital cameras, photo printers and scanners, as well as a strategic relationship with MTV that includes global sponsorship of the Video Music Awards in America, Europe and Asia.

The later is intended to push HP's products to its target demographic, 12-year-olds to 34-year-olds, whom Fiorina described as desiring an “emotional experience” with their entertainment products.

The imaging products will include three new Photosmart Instant Share digital cameras, three new photo printers, two compact 4-inch by 6-inch photo printers, three all-in-ones, a new scanner and new photo paper and media.

Just over a year after terminating its Phogenix joint venture with Kodak aimed a capturing the retail printing dollar, Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president, imaging and printing group, threw down the gauntlet: “There is no reason for any consumer to go to a retail store to get their pictures. We think everyone is going to print at home.”

To do so, HP touted a 29-cent per-print solution combining new Vivera Inks — its first branded ink — and Premium Plus photo paper. When used in tandem with the new printers, the new paper and ink combo offers a 40 percent print speed increase over previous HP models.

The new Photosmart 375 and 325 compact 4-by-6 photo printers can be used with an optional HP Internal Battery ($79), providing up to 70 photos per charge. An optional HP bt300 Bluetooth Wireless Printer Adapter ($49) allows users to print photos from Bluetooth-enabled camera phones.

The 375 features a color LCD for an estimated $199, the 325 loses the LCD for $149.

HP will add the 4.1-megapixel R607 to its existing R-series line this month for a suggested $299. According to Larrly Lesley, senior VP, consumer imaging and printing, HP, the R-series is the company's showcase line for its “Real Life” imaging technologies.

The R607 model incorporates the same proprietary “Real Life” technologies found in the existing R707, such as in-camera red-eye removal, adaptive lighting technology, in-camera panoramic preview and image advice. The R607 is compatible with the current HP Photosmart R-series camera dock, packs 32MB of internal memory and features a 1.5-inch LCD screen, PictBridge compatibility and USB 2.0 connectivity.

A new M-series of cameras targeted to hit key price points will include two PictBridge-enabled models: the 4.1-megapixel M407, available in September, with a 3x optical zoom lens, 16 MB of internal memory and 1.8-inch LCD for $199, and the 3.2-megapixel M307, available now, with similar specs for $169.

The cameras are compatible with the optional M-series camera dock, available this month for $49.

Building on Joshi's printing pronouncements, Lesley noted that “consumers should not have to leave their homes” for photo prints, hence the company's strategy around branded inks and new papers to provide a 29-cent per-print offering to compete with retail processing prices.

“Retailers were not ready for digital, but they've recovered quickly and cut the price of their digital printing, but they can't offer the convenience or the longevity” of home printing, Lesley said.

“If printing a hundred photos on your home printer doesn't appeal to you, we partner with online [photofinishers]” to do the bulk printing for you, he said.

HP's new photo printers will ship this month and will include the flagship eight ink Photosmart 8450 for $299 with a 2.5-inch color LCD, network capability and panorama printing. The printer is PictBridge compatible and can produce prints from Bluetooth-enabled devices with the optional bt300 wireless printer adapter.

The 8450 has slots for flash memory, including Compact Flash, SmartMedia, SD/MMC, xD-Picture Card, and Memory Stick in addition to a front USB port for PictBridge-enabled cameras.

When printing from a PC, the 8450 can produce a bordered 4-inch by 6-inch print in 27 seconds. Using the optional black inkjet cartridge, the unit can print 30 pages per minute (ppm) in black and 20 ppm in color.

The company also added two new six ink printers, the 8150 for $199, and the 7450 for $99.

The Photosmart 8150 features similar resolution, connectivity and LCD screen size as the 8450, with slightly slower print speeds of 20 ppm black and color and 26 ppm in black with an optional black inkjet cartridge for “laser quality” black.

The Photosmart 7450 is slower than both and loses the LCD screen.

The new Scanjet 4070 will ship this month for a suggested $129. It features a “photo door” within the scanner lid to hold four 35mm slides or four negative frames, positioning the media for scanning. The scanner's lid also features a frame that can hold 12 4-inch by 6-inch photos. One-touch buttons on the front panel of the scanner allow the user to scan the entire scanning bed or to scan only the “photo zone” to focus on slides or negatives.

The 48-bit 4070 has a 2,400 dpi optical resolution and a 2,400 by 2,400 dpi hardware resolution and features USB 2.0 connectivity.

To give home printers a creative boost, HP teamed with Disney to offer paper products for creating customized greeting cards, invitations, note-cards or individualized t-shirts with iron-on transfer media.

Via a partnership with AmericanGreetings.com, HP will offer a Holiday Photo Cards CD with more than 100 professionally-designed holiday templates.