Printer in Your Pocket? HP's Got It (emphasis below is mine)

"Geared for businesses, the 'mobile printing' technology was developed with a host of other companies, including BlackBerry pager maker Research In Motion and cell phone company SonyEricsson....

The new software allows mobile devices to print e-mails or e-mail attachments, such as PDF files or Word documents, from a printer connected to a corporate network. Hotels that cater to business travelers, such as Hyatt Hotels, plan to use the technology on a trial basis, Joshi said.

SonyEricsson plans to add the printing capability to its phones, yet SonyEricsson Vice President Philip Vanhoutte didn't have a time frame for the service's introduction....

Yet kinks in the technology are still being worked out. Jupiter Research analyst Dylan Brooks said a California hospital tested the software as a way for doctors to update a patient's medical records or fill out a prescription bedside. Most doctors, however, abandoned the technology for the traditional paper and pen, Brooks said. (Jenny asks why? Give us details!)

Mobile printing had a more successful trial with city of Toronto health inspectors, who were able to shave two weeks off the time it typically takes to issue restaurant health certificate by printing them on the spot, an HP representative said.

HP and RIM plan to sell the network technology directly to consumers. The handheld software will be available as a Web download in December for free.

The corporate license will cost $35 per user, per year to outfit 100 or fewer employees. The price will drop to $18 per user, per year for more than 100 users, up to 1,000, HP said.

Initially, RIM BlackBerry devices and devices using the Pocket PC 2002 operating system will be able to use the mobile printing technology. HP is also working with PalmSource to make the technology available for handhelds based on the Palm operating system, HP said." [CNET News.com]

This is really interesting, as it could solve one of the WLAN problems for libraries. I wonder if HP would be willing to provide some free licenses for a trial at a couple of libraries.