It turns out AirPlay might not be the only iOS 4.2 feature not quite ready for primetime. Or, perhaps, my expectations are too great. Regardless, AirPrint has let me down. It’s a new Apple protocol designed to enable wireless printing from iOS mobile devices. And Apple has accurately billed it: requiring a compatibility AirPrint-enabled printers… as you cannot relay print jobs through an Airport Extreme or Time Capsule.
One of the primary reasons I overpaid for an AEBS back in the day was to turn any USB printer into a local wireless printer. I’d hoped and assumed AirPlay would maintain that tradition. But, alas, it wasn’t meant to be — our AEBS-connected laser printer is not seen by my iPhone. But you figure this sort of functionality has to be on the roadmap, right?
At the end of the day, this isn’t a huge deal… merely an observation. As there’s probably only a handful of instances in a given year I pine to print from a pocketable device. (Although, it’s somewhat amusing given what I was capable of doing with my Palm V about ten years ago.) Whereas, I’d say wireless printing from an iPad is much more significant. I’ve been contemplating replacing my mom’s Mac mini with an iPad and these new print capabilities push me further in that direction. Yet this current AirPrint limitation wouldn’t really play into the equation one way or another.
Click to enlarge: