HP Officejet H470wbt

The print quality is also unsatisfactory, which wasn't a surprise but disappointing nonetheless. We wish we could speak better of the H470wbt, the highest end model in the line, but this new model is an unimpressive update you'd be better off purchasing its previous incarnation, the HP Deskjet 460c, at a discounted price. The casing of the Officejet H470wbt is almost identical to the 460c, but this time HP went with a matte black finish instead of silver.

Aesthetically, we really enjoy the design of the H470wbt. The corners are contoured and the flaps all neatly fold into the body. When everything is closed, it looks very rugged if Batman needed a mobile printer, his search would end here. The printer has most of the necessary ports, like PictBridge USB, standard USB, and a SD, miniSD, MMC slot, but lacks the older model's Compact Flash port.

This isn't a big issue since most digital point and shoot cameras use SD or Memory Stick media, but users with DSLRs that use CF cards should look toward a more photo specific traveler like the HP Photosmart A826. The Officejet H470wbt is compact and only slightly smaller than a normal desktop printer, measuring 3.25 inches high, 13.4 inches wide, and 6.45 inches deep.

At 4.5 pounds, it's portable enough to fit into a carry on bag or a briefcase, but you won't want to carry it around all day. The most expensive model in the series also includes a protective sleeve made of vinyl with cutouts for the various ports, but there's no handle or a place to store the cables. There are a total of three models in the Officejet H470 series, and each price jump adds more hardware and versatility.

HP omits an IrDA port from the H470s, but if you're dead set on traveling without wires, you can also purchase an 802.11 b/g adapter from HP (since it's not included in the series). To accommodate this option, HP built a network switch onto the back of the unit that's useful for people who constantly travel between their home, office, and remote networks.