Printers joining WiFi revolution

WIFI is spreading its wings. Originally this wireless networking standard was simply seen as a way to allow a number of computers in a home or office to share internet access. Then WiFi was integrated into mobile phones and smartphones as a means of accessing the web - often through "hotspots" in cafes, hotels or libraries.

Now, increasingly, the technology is turning up in printers. A WiFi network is an easier way to connect a number of PCs to a single printer, and it cuts the clutter of cables - especially useful if your PC is in the living room and the printer is in an upstairs bedroom. Who wants cables trailing up the staircase or down the hallway?

The Lexmark company introduced 10 new printers for students and home and small business users the other day, and four models came with WiFi networking.

Not just any old WiFi but the latest version, grandly dubbed WiFi Certified 802.11n Draft 2.0. This is faster and has a better range than the previous version, 802.11g, which is quite important for wireless printing.

The older 802.11g technology can move data through thin air at a maximum 54 megabits per second. The 802.11n version, by using multiple antennas that catch echoes reflected from walls and ceilings, can manage 144Mbps - almost three times as fast.

Both versions are claimed to have a range of almost 100 metres - more than enough to cover every room in your house - but speeds drop off with distance. The "Draft n" version can still deliver a good 70Mbps at the maximum range, while the older version can manage only a fraction of that.

Note the phrase "WiFi Certified" in relation to Lexmark's printers. The 802.11n specification has been a great source of argument between wireless equipment makers for some time, and the spec has yet to be officially ratified as an industry standard.

According to the WiFi Alliance, a US-based outfit that manages these things, "WiFi certified" means a product has passed "rigorous interoperability tests, which leads to an overall improved user experience".

Full ratification of the 802.11n standard is expected in the near future - perhaps in November, perhaps early next year - but there seems little point in waiting: the "Draft n" gear works exceptionally well.

Adding WiFi to a printer plainly doesn't cost a lot - the basic chip works out at about $2.50, according to one estimate DoubleClick has heard.

Lexmark has certainly put the technology into some of its cheaper new lines, including the $229 X6675 colour inkjet "all-in-one", which can copy, scan and fax as well as print at 25 pages a minute.

It also turns up on the $299 X7675 all-in-one inkjet, which sports an Ethernet port; and two new laser printers for the professional market: the $623 C540n colour model, and the 460dw mono laser, which prints at a lusty 38 pages per minute, and starts at $1175.

Remember that if you want full-speed wireless printing from these machines, you'll also need an 802.11n wireless router or card hooked up to your personal computer or laptop. Retail prices of these devices start around $150, but an internet search can often turn one up for not much more than half that.

SPEAKING of WiFi, the word is that the McDonald's chain is planning to offer free access to customers at all its 720 Australian stores.

In the US, Maccas has been offering free WiFi with its burgers and fries since 2003. But in Australia the local subsidiary has been charging for the privilege.

This is really good news for iPhone and other WiFi-enabled smartphone users seeking to escape the hefty charges imposed by Telstra and some other carriers for 3G third-generation mobile access to the web, once a miserly monthly limit is exceeded.

To be fair, Telstra does provide free access to registered Next G users at certain "hotspots" in capital-city CBDs, and a few inner suburbs - but DoubleClick has found that connecting while standing in the concourse of Sydney's Wynyard station at rush hour is not really conducive to relaxed computing.

Maccas, where the free service is set to start next March, certainly sounds a better bet. According to McDonald's chief information officer Henry Shiner, customers stand to save up to $728 a year if they log on for an hour a week.

Presumably many users will spend that and more on Egg McMuffins ("now with seasoned avocado") and endless cups of McCafe cappuccino.