BT Home hub, printer and Samsung Tab, Advice needed please

[Mark_G]

I know that all the techy Guys will be able to advise me on this. My Father has just got BT broadband and is looking at getting a laptop, but as he only wants it for emails, web browsing and printing out both, I was thinking a tablet might be better. I know he has a printer, which isnt wifi, but can he plug it into the BT hub and print to it using either the laptop or tablet? Finally, if a tablet doesnt use windows, can it talk to a printer?

Thanks in advance

Mark

 

[Captainron]

I would go with a netbook if he doesn't want to go for a laptop. They run all the same programmes as the bigger ones and have the connectivity he is after. they are also quite small so nice and portable.

 

[RGDave]

I'm quite techy, sad but true.

My daughter has an iPad, I have an Android ICS (4.0) tablet. Never printed a thing from either. Theoretically, with a wi-fi printer you can do almost anything, but a "cabled" printer and a tablet?.....probably easier to hack into the pentagon.

Some printers have apps on the apple/android store, but.....

An iPad will almost certainly NOT talk to a printer via usb, even if you could rig it up.

However, some tablets have memory card slots, and if your printer can print direct from an SD card, then you're in luck.

I have a linux netbook which can print to almost anything, but that's only as someone will have written the program/driver.

In short....look at laptops or netbooks. Samsung will almost certainly "do" a netbook with windows 7. Asus also do netbooks but avoid the Android ones.

I know Acer do a netbook with "dual boot" Android and Windows 7. Awesome.

 

[DappaDonDave]

Get a wifi printer! Fantastic kit!

I print my eBay address labels from my phone! It's amazing

 

[Mark_G]

Thanks Gentlemen, thats exactly the sort of advice I needed, why cant things be compatible lol?

 

[DappaDonDave]

Thanks Gentlemen, thats exactly the sort of advice I needed, why cant things be compatible lol?

Because we'd all be running windows 98 and saving thousands in upgrades in software, hardware and add-ons

 

[RGDave]

Thanks Gentlemen, thats exactly the sort of advice I needed, why cant things be compatible lol?

If I was in your position, I'd go all out to choose a tablet that definitely works with make x/y/z wi-fi printer (with an app if needed)....and buy both.

I bet the google nexus and samsung galaxy tab all have apps that allow you to print to the latest printers. Canon and HP for example are working very hard to sort this issue. Just make sure if you get both, it will do documents as well as photos.