With the popularity of do-it-yourself photo-printing on the rise, companies such as Canon, Epson, Kodak, and HP are struggling to win over the people with features such as portability, fade-resistant inks, and photo editing. How does the HP 475 Go-Go Printer match up to the competition?

Main Features of the 475:
-This printer is advertised as the only portable photo printer in the world that can print 5 x 7 color photos (it does 4 x 6's as well). 5 x 7 photos are often popular with people who like to scrapbook.
-1.5GB hard drive located in the printer allows you to store up to 1,000 photos in the printer (depending on the file size). It also lets you file them according to month.
-comes with a remote control you can use with the printer or for viewing slideshows on your television.
-no computer necessary
-save photos to cds without using a PC by connecting to an external cd burner via the front USB port on the printer.

Printing Photos:
You are able to toggle through your photos as soon as you stick your digital camera's memory card in the designated slot in the printer. This printer accepts CompactFlash Type I and II, SmartMedia, Secure Digital/MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, and xD cards. It also supports Memory Stick Dou and mini SD if you have an adapter. Editing features include automatic or manual red-eye removal, black and white photos, crop/zoom, and a few others. The photos came out great and the colors of the photos were noticeably better than Epson's Picturemate.

According to HP, using their paper and their ink, you'll get 80+ years without fading and they'll be water resistant and smudge resistant, though not water or smudge-proof. I am very well pleased with the picture quality. It also has HP Adaptive Lighting which brightens dark areas of photos. Cost of printing photos is between 24 and 29 cents with the HP Ink/Paper Photo Packs, or about 40 cents per print without. Most retailers such as Best Buy, Wal Mart, Office Depot have these packs and they range in price from $20 to $40, depending on how much photo paper is in the pack.

Exterior Design/ Portability:
The printer is a very attractive light grey color and has a carrying handle. Dimensions are (w/d/h)/weight 9.8/4.5/4.8 inches 3.3 pounds or 9.8/8.9/6.7 when printing. The printer comes with a power cord, but to print photos on the go you have to have the optional $80 rechargeable battery which will print about 75 photos per charge.

Some Printer Specs:
Print Technology: HP Thermal Inkjet
Print Resolution: (best) 1200x1200 black, 4800x1200 color
Print Speed: about 60 seconds
Media Handling: 20 sheet input tray, accepts media 4x6, 4x12, 5x7
Operating System for computer printing: Windows 98 or better, Mac OS X v. 10.1.5, 10.2, 10.3

What Comes in the Box?
HP 475 Go-Go Printer
14ml 97 tri-color cartridge
power module with cord
TV video cable
Index card kit
User's guide
Setup poster
Registration card
photo and imaging software
HP Share-To-Web software

What I like about this printer:
This printer is feature-rich. It comes with video cable so you can hook it up to your television and watch your slide shows with the remote that comes with the printer. It is bluetooth compatible, so if you have a cell phone that has bluetooth you can print pictures wirelessly from your phone. I think that HP is offering the best as far as portable digital printing goes.

What I do not like:
Occasionaly, the machine will grab more than one sheet of photo paper at once. However, usually it's because I press down on the photo paper too hard when putting it in the machine.

Do I reccommend it?
It depends. Do you need all the extra feature that this printer offers. Do you need 5x7 photos, internal memory, and a larger viewing screen? If not, than this Go-Go is a no-go. Go for the HP 385 Go-Go instead (it's cheaper). But, if you like all the features and want the best of the best as far as features go (quality is the same on the HP 385) this is the printer for you. If you do not necessarily need a portable printer you probably won't find this printer practical. It does not print 8x10, nor word documents. Just photos. For the same price you can get a good all-in-one printer that does documents as well as photos that look just as good. Thank you for your time and for reading my review.

Read My Other Reviews On Photo Printers

HP 335: A Cheap, Portable Photo Pinter
http://www.epinions.com/content_223361011332

HP 2575: Best Budget AIO for Digital Photos
http://www.epinions.com/content_220347010692

HP 3210: The Master All-in-One for Digital Photography
http://www.epinions.com/content_226013515396

HP 8250: PC Mag's Editor's Choice
http://www.epinions.com/content_224366595716

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 249
Operating System: Windows and Macintosh