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By Felisa Yang, CNET.com
Oct 30, 2007

The HP Photosmart A826 is the first standalone snapshot printer we've seen that truly attempts to bring the in-store photo kiosk experience into the home. The printer's large size and extra large touch screen make using it a pleasure. And the fast print speed and wealth of features make it easy to produce a variety of prints. Only its hefty US$250 price gives us pause.

Given the tendency we have to take lots of pictures, but only print a select few, we wonder who the audience for this product will be. For its size, it's not easily portable, so it would be a hassle to drag it around to family events. We think this printer could find a home among professional party organizers and professional photographers, who could set it up as a photo kiosk for attendees to print images straight off their digital cameras or memory cards, or to display a slide show of the proceedings as they happen.

HP's Digital Mindset blog lists the "busy mom" as the target audience for the Photosmart A826, but our feeling is that most families are sharing photos online these days using various sites. This would be a fun device for kids to use for making prints, but again, at US$250, it's not the most economical choice.

Less expensive alternatives for snapshot printing include the Canon Selphy CP740 and the Epson PictureMate Pal, though admittedly, neither is nearly as fun to use as the Photosmart A826. Despite the high price, HP has broken new ground with this design and we liked it enough to award it an Editors' Choice designation.

Design

The HP Photosmart A826 is all smooth plastic and rounded edges. Its design is pod-like, resembling the 1950s take on futuristic, space-age design (it would be right at home in Disney's House of the Future exhibit from the late '50s). It sits 263mm wide at the base (the top is narrower), 244mm deep, and 275mm tall and weighs a light 2.5kg.

     

For more details on the A826's design, click on the image.

The printer's top panel flips up for paper loading. Unlike most snapshot printers, the paper is fully contained within the body of the printer. You can load up to 100 sheets of 4 x 6-inch or 5 x 7-inch paper and close the lid, thereby protecting stored paper from dust.

The control panel on the Photosmart A826 couldn't be simpler--basically, there isn't one. When you flip down the front cover/paper output tray, you're faced with four memory card slots and a PictBridge USB port, as well as a plastic stylus in its own holder. All of the functionality is accessed through the 7-inch touchscreen display.

The large screen makes it a pleasure to peruse images, and the screen is nicely responsive to touch, though we found it prefers the stylus to a finger (Also, the stylus doesn't leave unsightly fingerprints). A small panel on the printer's front hides the single print cartridge.

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