HP Expands Mobile Print Offerings to Make Wireless Printing Simple; Company Drives Growing Market for Mobile Printing with New Solutions, Technology Relationships

Business Wire, Oct 16, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

CTIA Wireless IT & Internet 2002

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 16, 2002

HP (NYSE:HPQ) today announced new mobile print offerings and relationships with Adobe, Cisco Systems, Inc., Guest-Tek, PalmSource, Inc., Research In Motion (RIM) and Sony Ericsson that help customers print from any mobile device.

In support of its four-year investment in mobile printing, HP has expanded its portfolio of mobile wireless print solutions to include:

-- The HP Mobile Enterprise Printing Solution, developed with Adobe and RIM's Blackberry(TM) technology to enable mobile wireless printing to any networked printer within an enterprise;

-- HP Mobile Printing for Pocket PC, enabling users of HP iPAQ and other Pocket PC 2002 devices to print to wireless and networked printers;

-- The HP Mobile Public Printing Solution, integrating Cisco and Guest-Tek technology to enable notebook PC printing within public venues with high-speed Internet access;

-- New HP Jetdirect print server security features, including Cisco's 802.11 LEAP authentication technology, ensuring secure access to wireless-enabled printers; and

-- New HP Developers Program solutions, delivering the HP Mobile Printing Software Development Kit (SDK) for mobile printing and enabling companies such as PalmSource to add printing capabilities for the Palm OS(R) and Sony Ericsson to add print functionality to mobile devices and applications.

A large portion of the workforce -- 165 million professionals worldwide -- is mobile today, representing nearly 30 percent of the U.S. workforce, according to e-Trends. This trend toward mobility is expected to continue as IT mobile/wireless spending grows to $83 billion by 2005, according to IDC. HP is working with partners and promoting standards to make printing simple for mobile professionals.

"Our customers want to be more productive by printing from mobile devices, but they want the experience to be just as simple and straight-forward as printing is from the desktop," said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president, HP Imaging and Printing Group. "Our multi-million dollar investment in mobile printing and collaboration with key industry leaders give business users the ability to print critical information wirelessly no matter where they are in the world."

The HP Mobile Enterprise Printing Solution

The server-based HP Mobile Enterprise Printing Solution incorporates technology from Adobe and RIM, enabling corporate IT managers to meet the growing demand for mobile printing. The solution allows mobile business users to be more productive by easily printing a broad range of documents from Pocket PC 2002 and RIM Blackberry devices.

The HP Mobile Enterprise Printing Solution integrates into existing wired network infrastructures and provides mobile access to any networked printer within an enterprise. It also reduces print management costs by enabling IT professionals to troubleshoot print jobs, view status, track system performance and monitor users through a simple Web-based management tool.

The HP Mobile Enterprise Printing Solution is available immediately in the United States for a free 60-day trial at http://www.hp.com/go/mep.

HP Mobile Printing for Pocket PC

HP Mobile Printing for Pocket PC allows users of Pocket PC devices to print their critical information, including e-mails, images, appointments, contacts, Pocket Word and Microsoft(R) Office files.

As a standalone solution, HP Mobile Printing for Pocket PC allows mobile professionals to print any resident content on their mobile devices directly to networked, and Bluetooth- and infrared-enabled printers.

In addition, the solution provides Pocket PC devices access to the robust capabilities of the HP Mobile Enterprise Printing Solution.

Pocket PC device users worldwide can download HP Mobile Printing for Pocket PC at no charge beginning in December at http://www.hp.com/go/pocketpcprint.

The HP Mobile Public Printing Solution

The HP Mobile Public Printing Solution delivers notebook PC printing capability in public venues, including hotels, corporate guest offices, airports and other so-called "hot spots." The solution integrates with Cisco's Building Broadband Service Manager and Guest-Tek broadband access technology to add printing to their high-speed Internet access solutions.

The HP Mobile Public Printing Solution is available in the United States to businesses interested in providing public print services for their customers. Information on this solution is available at http://www.hp.com/go/mobileprinting.

HP Jetdirect 802.11 Wireless Print Servers

HP Jetdirect 802.11 print servers are the only print servers available to support 802.1x Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), including Cisco's LEAP implementation. The HP Jetdirect 280m, 380x and 680n 802.11 print servers provide IT professionals with a secure method to allow wireless printing within an enterprise across a wide range of print and multifunction devices.

HP Jetdirect 802.11 print servers are available now worldwide. Information on these solutions is available at http://www.hp.com/go/mobileprinting.