HP and Nokia working on Bluetooth printing.
Published by Rafe Blandford at
In this Nokia press release. Nokia are working with HP to produce bluetooth printing from Series 60 devices to Blutooth enabled HP printers. Details in comments.
[quote]HP and Nokia to Work Together on Wireless Printing Concept for Series 60 Phones
February 18, 2003
New Bluetooth Printing Application Intended to Enable Point and Shoot -- and Now Print
HP and Nokia are working together on a printing application for Series 60 phones based on the Bluetooth industry standard. The work is designed to enable consumers and business professionals to print content from their phones to HP Bluetooth enabled printers at the touch of a button.
With the printing application, users of Series 60 phones such as the Nokia 7650 and Nokia 3650 could select various types of content from the phone and send it to an HP Bluetooth enabled printer via the Basic Print Profile (BPP) for printing. These capabilities have the potential to offer greater flexibility and enhance the mobile experience for people on the go.
The Bluetooth printing application, currently in development at HP, is targeting functionality that could allow users to print items such as photos, multimedia message service (MMS) messages with images, e-mail, short message service (SMS), notepad files, contacts and calendar items from their Series 60 phones. With mobile phone printing capabilities, the function of the phone extends beyond verbal communication and would give consumers a new level of convenience and freedom, wirelessly.
HP's exploration of wireless printing solutions is part of the company's strategy to accelerate the delivery of quality mobile and wireless printing applications and services for customers.
"Printing from Nokia's Series 60 phones is a natural extension of what people want to do with digital information. Whether you want to print e-mails or photos, these capabilities may be possible through this solution currently being explored by HP Labs," said George Mulhern, senior vice president, HP Imaging and Printing Group. "HP and Nokia have a solid reputation for delivering quality solutions to their customers and we expect great things could come out of enabling people to print from a print-enabled Series 60 phone to an HP Bluetooth printer."
"As the market leader in mobile communications, Nokia is driving the wide-scale adoption of Bluetooth in the mobile arena. The convenience, speed and reliability with local wireless connections will simplify consumers' mobile experience," said Juha Putkiranta, Senior Vice President, Imaging Business Unit, Nokia Mobile Phones. "The openness of the Bluetooth printing application is a testimony of our efforts in promoting interoperability and how wireless technology may provide new and exciting solutions that are flexible to suit users' needs and lifestyles. This application is a great example of what may become possible when you combine imaging phones like the Nokia 7650 and Nokia 3650 and Bluetooth printers from HP."
To print from Series 60 phones, the user first selects a content type (images, MMS message, etc.) and then selects a specific item of that type (for example, a couple of images or an MMS message with an image attachment). When satisfied with the selection, the user then selects the BPP-enabled Bluetooth printer they wish to use for print. This could come from either a list of saved printers or by actively detecting nearby Bluetooth BPP devices. Once the device is selected and verified to be within range and that it supports BPP, the formatted data would be sent to the printer while the transmission status is shown.
Bluetooth technology is the joint achievement of leading companies within the computer and telecommunications industries. Nokia is a founding member and HP an early associate member of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, an organization that has gained worldwide support. With international interest in Bluetooth technology, the range of Bluetooth applications will need to be large and diverse.
Nokia and HP both have organizations that support third-party developers. Nokia arranges developer conferences, distributes information via e-mail and organizes special electronic discussion boards for developers. HP offers developers opportunities for expanding their business portfolios through the HP Printing and Digital Imaging Solutions provider program. The program offers developers valuable resources, including tools and developer kits, training, marketing support and a variety of services. Additional information is available at http://www.hp.com/go/mobileprinting.
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