We waited a long time for iOS 4.2 on the iPad. It is the first major update to the iPad’s software since it was released back in April and brings over 100 new features to the iPad –including headliners like multitasking, folders, AirPint, AirPlay, Universal Inbox, and lots more.
I’ve posted quite a lot lately on some of the signature new features and my thoughts on them – especially on how disappointing AirPrint is.
Now I’d love to hear your thoughts on the new iOS 4.2. It’s been out for about 10 days now, so hopefully most of you have had a chance to install it and get to know it a little. What do you reckon so far? Impressed? What are your favorite and least favorite things about the update?
AirPrint was touted by Apple as one of the biggest headline new features included in the recent iOS 4.2 software update for the iPad. It has turned out to be a huge disappointment. Instead of supporting both wireless printers and nearly any printer all that was shared via your PC, it has come out with support only for a very small range of HP wireless printers and no support at all for any shared printers. There are a number of 3rd party printing apps that offer much more than AirPrint currently does.
The hope is that Apple will beef up AirPrint (a lot) in future updates. It surely needs to be drastically improved, and it looks like there is more reason to be hopeful on this subject now – as Steve Jobs himself is apparently promising it. In another of his highly publicized efforts as an Apple customer service rep, he had this email exchange with a user recently:
Dear Steve,
You got me all hype about AirPrint. Now with iOS 4.2 released, I find out that I can only print on 11 select printers. Seriously?!
And, Steve Jobs’ alleged reply:
Lots more coming soon. It’s what it takes to make a giant leap to driverless printing, which is huge.
Here’s hoping that soon means very soon, and that ‘lots more’ includes support for shared printers, as we were originally promised.
News via: BGR
AirPrint is one of the headline new features in the latest version of the iPad software – iOS 4.2. It allows you to print directly to certain wireless printers from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch (see below for which models and other requirements).
This new feature has almost no settings, requires no setup on the user’s part, and is one of those typical Apple offerings that should ‘just work’ if you have the right device and printer.
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s needed and how it works …
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AirPrint is the new feature in iOS 4.2 (released today) for iPad and iPhone that lets you print to certain wireless printers direct from your iDevices. Originally, AirPrint was also going to support printing to any shared printer on your local network, but that functionality was stripped out shortly before release of the iOS 4.2 software update for iPad and iPhone.
So AirPrint currently supports only to wireless printers, and to a very select group of wireless printers for now. For now the list is only seven printers, all from HP. Here’s the list as of today (11/22/10):
- HP Envy eAll-in-One series (D410a)
- HP Photosmart Plus e-AiO (B210a)
- HP Photosmart Premium e-AiO (C310a)
- HP Photosmart Premium Fax e-AiO (C410a)
- HP Photosmart e-AiO (D110)
- HP Photosmart Wireless e-AiO (B110)—Europe and Asia-Pacific
- HP Photosmart eStation (C510)
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It’s finally here. After all these months of knowing that iOS 4.2 would come to the iPad in November, this huge, major update is now available in iTunes.
This is the operating system software update for iPad that adds multitasking, the Multitasking Bar for rapid app-switching, folders for organizing our apps and home screens, AirPrint for wireless printing from the iPad (to a limited group of supported printers), AirPlay for streaming media to Apple TV, and a total of over 100 new features. See my earlier post HERE for a rundown of the most notable new features in 4.2.
You should be able to see the new update available as soon as you connect your iPad to iTunes. If not, you may need to keep hitting ‘Check for Updates’ until it refreshes properly. For those of you who have running the latest gold master (developers only) release, iTunes will tell you that you already have the current version – and a check of the direct download link for 4.2.1 shows that is the exact same build number 4.2.1 (8C148). So I’ll be keeping mine as is.
Happy updating y’all. 
