The iP90 printer has built in IrDA compatibility (for laptops so equipped, the 650 and the 700w), and the optional Bluetooth module, enabling you to print wirelessly from a PC, PDA or mobile phone. Printing over BT from my Treo 650 was effortless. I installed the ip90�s Bluetooth dongle which tucks into and hides in a slot inside the front of the printer and is about the size of your little finger. I turned on my Treo 650�s Bluetooth radio, had it search for new devices, it found the printer, paired with it, and I told it to print a memo, then a contact, then a category of contacts. Then a photo from the phone�s camera. No fuss, no muss, it just plain worked.
On a 650, as long as a program has a �send� feature, select that, then select Bluetooth as the send method, then choose the printer, and go. Now think about this. The 700w doesn�t have this feature, and requires a third-party app to print over Bluetooth, but it does have IR built in, and you can just point it at the iP90 to print.
With its optional battery pack, and Bluetooth, you can literally sit in your car, or at a job site, or in the middle of nowhere and print from your Treo or laptop. No wires, no power cords, nothing but air. If the ip90�s battery pack gets low (it�s supposed to be good for about two hours of printing), Canon also sells an optional 12v car adapter to power and re-charge it.
Next, I tried the PictBridge feature by cabling my Olympus C-7000 zoom directly to the iP90 with the camera�s USB cable, fed in a sheet of photo paper, and selected the camera�s print function. This is PictBridge technology at work. Again, utterly spectacular results. And fast? C�mon. Under a minute for a gorgeous, borderless 4x6 color print to come sliding out.
The PIXMA iP90 printer is compatible over USB with both Windows� and Mac� platforms (Windows XP, Windows 2000/ME/98 and Mac OS X v 10.2.1 to 10.3.x.). And one-way communication over IrDA with Windows XP, Windows 2000/ME/98. The Bluetooth Adapter is compatible with Mac OS X v10.3.3 to 10.3.x and Windows XP (Service Pack 1 or later with Microsoft "Support for Bluetooth Wireless Devices") and, of course, Bluetooth equipped Palms.
It gets a little confusing depending on which Treo you have. The 650 and the 700w both have IR and BT. When you try to IR beam something from the 650 to the printer, the phone complains �can�t find compatible handheld device.� So use BT with the 650. On the 700w, the phone found the printer and printed just fine over IR. Bluetooth printing from a 700w requires a third party app; it seems not to be built into Windows Mobile 5. In any case, either Treo will print wirelessly to the iP90: contacts, docs, and photos, whatever.
Okay, so I�m raving about this printer, but with good reason. It�s just a superbly capable piece of gear, but you�re probably wondering if there are any drawbacks to it. Yeah, a couple.
The ink tanks are very small. That�s the bad part. The good part is that unlike other/older printers, the print head is not part of the ink tank; it�s a separate carrier for the tanks, so new ink tanks are relatively inexpensive, compared to the kind that have the print head built-in. (And heed this warning: stick with genuine Canon inks. They might cost a little more, but you�re really taking a risk buying cheap no-name clones that could foul the precision print head and lead to an expensive replacement, because Canon WILL void your warranty if print head failure was caused by using cheap no-name inks!). As mentioned, there�s no paper eject tray, so prints just kind of spill out the front and land, well, that depends on where you put the iP90.
And one feature I found curious is that the Windows driver software control panel lets you power off the printer on demand or after a set time period, but it won�t let you power it on. You have to press a button on the printer to do that. As with any complex piece of consumer electronics, the more you use it, the easier it gets. Read the manuals, play with the driver controls. Canon did a damn fine job with the design of everything. The iP90�s case is all plastic, but build quality is high-precision and very stylish in a minimalist way.
Conclusion >>
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Read Merciful by Casey Adolfsson
The iP90 printer has built in IrDA compatibility (for laptops so equipped, the 650 and the 700w), and the optional Bluetooth module, enabling you to print wirelessly from a PC, PDA or mobile phone. Printing over BT from my Treo 650 was effortless. I installed the ip90�s Bluetooth dongle which tucks into and hides in a slot inside the front of the printer and is about the size of your little finger. I turned on my Treo 650�s Bluetooth radio, had it search for new devices, it found the printer, paired with it, and I told it to print a memo, then a contact, then a category of contacts. Then a photo from the phone�s camera. No fuss, no muss, it just plain worked.
Next, I tried the PictBridge feature by cabling my Olympus C-7000 zoom directly to the iP90 with the camera�s USB cable, fed in a sheet of photo paper, and selected the camera�s print function. This is PictBridge technology at work. Again, utterly spectacular results. And fast? C�mon. Under a minute for a gorgeous, borderless 4x6 color print to come sliding out.
