HP Photosmart eStation C510

Pros: Prints good quality. Can FAX. Can print documents/images from any email source. Removable Zeen tablet. PRINT APPS. Read documents, eBooks and images. Can play MP3s. Can read emails from any POP or IMAP server. Duplex printing.

Cons: Ink costs are high. eFax doesn't currently work. Zeen can be slow. Zeen cannot be turned off if docked. Touchscreen keyboard is harder to use than physical keyboard. Product not fully developed. Server problems.

Summary: This is one of the most exciting products I have seen. It is a printer that can print and scan from a computer, as does any multifunction printer. It has a removable tablet computer called the Zeen which is the control panel. Using the Zeen, you can copy, scan to SD memory card or fax via eFax (if you can get it to work). The Zeen can have a home page which can display WIDGETS you install on it which can have such things as the time, date, temperature, etc. There are many to choose from. You can have up to 8 home pages. The home page also has room for 6 "APPS" at the bottom in the APP TRAY. There is a tab with an arrow that can be clicked above the apps to give you access to the available apps, which contains up to 100 (I think) apps. These apps are mostly used to print content and which come directly from the WEB. Additional apps can be installed from HP's app library. Android apps cannot be easily installed. The printer (and Zeen) are web connected through WiFi. The printer gets its own email address assigned and it is possible to send attachments such as .DOC, .DOCX, .PDF, .JPG files, etc. It then prints the document/image as if you printed it off your computer application. My daughter, who is attending college, says this would have saved her a lot of hassle last semester had I had the printer then. Using the Zeen, you can read books (from Barnes & Nobel or from your SD card (.PDF format)) and view image files from your SD card (I have had trouble viewing images using GALLERY. It may have been caused by the large, 6GB size of the folder). You can (if it works) send or receive up to 20 faxes each from a phone number which is assigned to your computer (Zeen).

564 ink cartridges are very expensive to use. Even the 564XL cartridges don't last long. It uses 5 cartridges and they tend to run out at one time.

I have had my C510a eStation printer for 48 hours and had the following experiences:

I have been unable to register with eFax. When I attempt to register, I get a "cannot get a fax number" message. After two days, I have been told that the server is down and they don't know when it will be working. They said it could be several days. The engineer said to keep trying to register.

Except for eFax, everything was working until late last night when the "PRINT APPS" stopped printing. Everything would seem normal until the paper exited the printer. All it printed was a thin line at the top of the page. It should have printed something like a coloring page, according to which app I was printing from.

After calling HP support several times, I was finally contacted by an engineer who had me do a hard reset on the Zeen by powering up while holding both volume buttons. This caused me to lose everything I had spent hours setting up. It also caused all home pages to disappear, leaving just one blank home page with only one app showing (Yahoo! mail). I will now have to create new home pages and reload the apps to the home page. I assume I will have to set up various apps again which is a pain to do using the virtual keyboard. I think touch screens are overrated. After resetting the Zeen, the Print Apps now print properly.

I have read a review on the WEB for this printer who said it wouldn't read from his SD card. I had the same problem, but found it was my fault. You simply have to press the card in all the way until it "snaps". When I did that, it worked fine.

One thing I don't like is that the Zeen cannot be turned off when it is docked on the printer. If you take the Zeen off the printer and turn it off, after you put in in the dock it turns back on. Even after it dims, light still comes from it. Our printer is in our bedroom and my wife is very light sensitive. I have been taking the Zeen off the dock, turning it off and leaving it on my desk at night. The printer LEDs (3 of them) can be turned off. I am strongly considering purchasing a holster from HP to protect the Zeen ($24.95)and a power supply ($24.95) to allow longer operation when not docked. They also have a neoprene sleeve for $19.95 which seems less bulky than the holster. HP has an anti-glare screen protector for $19.95.

The engineer told me that the eStation C510a is a very new product which is still in the testing phase. I would have thought the product would have been tested before being released to the public. She told me to report any other problems so that they could improve the product. She also said that a newer version of the Android operating system would be available soon which would make it faster (it can be very slow).

I love the product. I just wish it would work properly. If you buy it, be prepared to spend a lot of time on the phone with support. This is especially important if you have a cell phone without unlimited minutes.

Updated on Dec 24, 2010

In using the printer again, I have discovered the following:
1. Zeen scan to SD card doesn't work.
2. Zeen copy works.
3. Print Apps will not print, again. They eject one blank sheet of paper.
4. ePrint from email to photo paper works fine.

This printer has plenty of promise, but is very frustrating to use.

Updated on Dec 24, 2010

HP support had me do another hard reset on the Zeen by powering up while holding both volume keys. I lost all my settings and home page. Now, the Zeen scan to SD card works as do the print apps.

Now I have to set everything back up.

Updated on Jan 15, 2011

I now believe the rating on this printer should be ONE star. I can no longer recommend this printer.

I have been having trouble with the Zeen tablet locking up on various applications such as Home, Internet & eReader. I get an error message such as: "Activity Internet (in application Internet) is not responding". I get the option to Force Close or Wait. Wait doesn't usually work, so I have to Force Close. When I restart the application, I have to re-enter data. In the case of the eReader, it loses track of where I am in the book I am reading.

HP now tells me that they do not support such applications and the upgrade of Android operating system will not occur. I was told to call Google Android support for help and to download the newer version of Android on my own.

In addition, HP has substantially cut the price and is giving a free $50 gift card with the purchase. I believe they are closing it out and that support will soon evaporate.

Do not buy this printer.