Epson brings IrDA interface to PM-860PT printer via CF slot Peripherals / Seiko Epson Posted by zmcnulty on Aug 27, 2003 - 07:10 AM Seiko/Epson Inc, will release the "PMPTIR1" CF card for their PM-860PT printer on July 19th. The CF card provides an infrared interface so that users may print images, et. al directly from their cellular phones. The price will be 7,500 yen. To add infrared capabilities to the PM-860PT, users need only insert the card into the printer's Type 2 CF slot. It operates using the IrDA 1.2 Low Power standard, with a maximum bandwith of 115.2kbps, from a maximum distance of 20cm. The supported cellular phones are NTT DoCoMo's D505i, N505i, SH505i, SO505i, F505i, N504i, P504is, and the F504is. Apart from printing pictures stored inside the phone, users may also choose a "Phone Book print". This option will print a contact's name, phone number,email, onto a 89mm roll paper, like a business card. Additionally, up to 500 contact's information can be printed onto a single A4 sized piece of paper. In order to utilize the PMPTIR1 card, a firmware update to the PM-860PT is necessary. This firmware is packaged with the PMPTIR1. Sources: http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2003/0714/epson.htm http://www.epson.co.jp/osirase/2003/030714.htm Interpreter Notes: With Japan's camera phones now getting into the 2MP range, it only makes sense that users should be able to print directly from them. Cheers to Seiko/Epson for being the first off the line with a product like this. But, as with many "firsts", the compatibility is lacking. It seems that DoCoMo's are the only phones currently supported. DoCoMo is not the only cellular carrier in Japan that has camera phones. With updateable firmware, Epson ought to take care of their customers who don't have DoCoMo phones. The American market is just starting to see the development of the camera phone. However, until we can get up to the acceptable "printable" resolutions, I doubt a product like this would be useful for a whole lot of people. And I am very interested to see the information of 500 contacts on one piece of paper. But this is an excellent way to keep a "hard copy" of what's inside your cell phone. This article is from TechJapan   http://www.techjapan.com/ The URL for this story is:   http://www.techjapan.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=5