It was back in April of last year when Google announced Cloud Print, which would allow printing from any device, OS or browser without having to install software. After all that time, Google is finally releasing a beta version of Cloud Print which works with mobile docs and Gmail for mobile. Rolling out over the next couple days for users in the US, Cloud Print will work on most phones that support HTML5, devices running Android 2.1+ and iOS 3+.
“Imagine printing an important document from your smartphone on the way to work and finding the printout waiting for you when you walk in the door.”
Using Cloud Print is simply enough, once you’ve connected your printer, it’s really just as easy as hitting print. You’ll just need to open a document from Google Docs or an email from Gmail and pick “Print” from the drop down menu on top. You’ll be able to print a few kinds of email attachments including .pdf and doc. Once you try it once it should be a piece of cake.
To get started with Google Cloud Print, you’ll need to connect a printer, which requires a Windows PC right now. Google says support for Linux and Mac is on the way so don’t worry. If you have any problems or questions, you can head over to the Cloud Print support page, which should hopefully help you out.