HP Tango printer is not much to look at, consisting of little more than a rectangular slab of white and gray plastic. There is no LCD control screen at all, as you are expected to check your printer from the HP smart app on your Android or iOS mobile device most of the time.
It’s admirably compact, however, measuring only 389mm wide, 246mm deep and 91mm high, so it also fits on a small desk or shelf if you’re a little tight for space at home. The top cover bends to act as a mailbox, and contains 50 sheets of A4 paper, or 20 sheets of photographic paper, and the basic version of tango also includes a small output tray that can be attached to the front of the printer.
However, there is a second model called Tango X, which costs 180 euros/199 dollars, and replaces the output tray with a wraparound protective linen cover. So it can also look quite stylish and fashionable sitting on a shelf.
Tango is not particularly fast for a printer in this price range. HP cites speeds of up to 11 pages per minute for plain black text, 8 ppm for color documents, and 37 seconds for a 10x15cm postcard printout.
However, our tests produced more modest results, about 7 ppm for text documents, 5 ppm for color and 70 seconds enough paused for postcards.
However, the print quality is not disappointing, with crisp and smooth text that can give a laser printer a run for your money and bright and colorful graphics and photos. He’s going to do the job, then, until you’re in too much of a hurry.
HP’s new Tango printer is a curious beast, noting how HP claims it’s the “world’s first smart home printer” thanks to its ability to work with both Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant. So, if you have a shopping list on your smartphone, you can use an Amazon Echo speaker or an Alexa app on your smartphone to say “Alexa, tell my HP printer to print my shopping list” and the like.
Whenever the printer starts working with ink, the HP Smart app automatically orders new inks to be shipped to the folio, with the cost of inks included in the monthly subscription.
Other subscription options cost 3.49 euros per month for 100 pages (3.49 pence per page) and 7.99 euros per month for 300 pages (2.7 pence per page, but beware of additional costs that start to run out if you exceed the monthly page limit).
In the past, we have criticized Instant Ink schematics, as they are of good value for printing graphics and color photos, but less attractive for simple text documents. However, HP Tango includes an additional bonus, as photographic prints up to 13×18 cm printed by the HP Smart app on an Android or iOS device are free and do not count for monthly page assignment.
HP Tango may not be the fastest or cheapest printer in the area and doesn’t have the usual things you’d expect like a screen, card reader, and USB port.
However, it is unlikely that the target market will worry because this smart printer is aimed at those who want to print from mobile phones or even use their voice through smart assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant. To do this, the Tango is brilliant and provides high quality results.
It’s attractive, so you don’t want to hide it, and the Instant Ink scheme that offers free printing makes it even more enticing.Photo:HP
HP Tango: Specs
- A4 inkjet printer with 1200x1200dpi resolution
- Supports Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant voice controls
- 50-sheet A4 tray, 20-sheet photo tray
- Connectivity – Wi-Fi, with Apple AirPrint, HP Smart app (iOS/Android)
- Dimensions – 389x246x91mm, 3.4kg
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