Kodak unveils new wireless printers at CES

Kodak has unveiled two new multifunction printers at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The Kodak ESP Office 6150 and ESP 7250 share the ability to connect to Wifi networks and print on both sides of the paper. Each has a sensor that can monitor how much and what type of paper is in the feed tray and a 2.5in LCD display.

The ESP Office 6150 can hold 200 sheets of plain paper, is aimed at small businesses and costs £179.

The ESP 7250 has a memory card reader and a separate tray for photographic paper. It costs £169.

Unlike comparable models from Lexmark and HP, Kodak has not added touch-sensitive screens to its new printers. A Kodak spokesperson told Computeractive that Kodak’s research had shown consumers were unimpressed with touch control on printers.

“We don’t think we’re going to lose any sales from not including touch control. People don’t see the printer as a hub and the small size of the displays makes them impractical. Some companies are trying to change user behavior but we think technology should adapt to users’ needs. ”

Despite the Wifi connections available on both printers, Kodak has also omitted the ability to print direct from online photo albums, such as Picasa. “Why would you want to view and printer from a small display on the printer when you have a full-sized monitor and the ability to connect to the printer over a network?”, the spokesperson said.

The Kodak ESP Office 6150 and ESP 7250 can also be used to scan documents and send faxes. Kodak said that consumers could save around £75 per year using its printing technology and cartridges, which have separate black and multicolour tanks.

Kodak also launched a new range of cameras and camcorders at the event in Las Vegas. The Playsport camcorder can record in 1080p high definition and is waterproof to depths of 10 feet.

Details of social networking accounts, such as Facebook and MySpace, can be added to the camera so videos can be shared. However Wifi is not included, so u sers will have to connect the Playsport to a computer with the supplied USB cable to upload clips. It costs $150.

The Kodak Slice takes pictures at 14 megapixels and has a 3.5in LCD touchscreen on the back. It has internal storage of 2GB, sufficient for around 5,000 images.

It uses facial recognition technology to enable users to sort images. Up to 25 faces can be tagged by name and then filtered by multiple tags, so picture collections can be sorted by person and other tags, such as a particular event or occasion.

The Kodak Slice is available in a range of colours and costs $350. UK pricing for the Playsport and Slice will be announced later.