The HP Photosmart 7520 is the latest all-in-one to hit the shelves, with the handy addition of cloud printing and wireless connectivity, giving you the power to get things done, whether a small office or a home user. If you are in IT, and you're looking for something for your hardwired network, you'll want to look elsewhere as the 7520 offers no Ethernet support.

It is the next in the 7500 line after the Photosmart 7510, which was released last year. The 7520 is just as efficient as the 7510, but upgrades such as an additional USB port in the front for your external storage drive and a dedicated fax machine offer a little extra for those who need it.

Features

Hewlett-Packard's ePrintCenter apps are accessed easily using the 4.33-inch display screen on the 7520, just like its predecessor, which requires a wireless network to access the HP app store. You'll want wireless connectivity to use the suite of apps in the ePrintCenter, such as cloud and remote printing that makes it a snap to sent your print documents to the printer without having to wire it in to the network.

With the Photosmart 7520, you get a printer, scanner, copier, and fax machine in one black machine measuring 17.9 inches long by 17.7 inches tall and 7.7 inches wide. Yes, it's a little bit big, but HP designed the outbound page tray to fold back inside the machine when you aren't printing to save some space.

Design

The 4.33-inch color touch screen is shaped like the original iPhone: rectangular landscape screen inside a rounded edge casing and illuminated buttons for ease of use when making selections. The touch screen is much more sensitive than the earlier touch screen HP models.

However, Cnet reviewers point out issues with scrolling through the menu. When scrolling, the menu tends to continue moving even when you've taken your finger off the screen unless you start swiping outside of the display. The display takes some getting used to, especially if you are an iPhone user. The gestures are a little different, so once your realize this and start to learn the HP touch screen gestures, you'll do just fine.

The autodocument feeder (ADF) is at the top of the printer, and is handy when scanning large documents. However, it will only scan up to 25 sheets at a time. If you are looking for a printer to handle enormous documents, you'll want to look elsewhere. The paper tray at the bottom of the device holds up to 125 sheets, and even a special place for your 4x6-inch and 5x7-inch jobs, such as photo printing, located at the top of the printer that holds 20 sheets. A sensor decides the best media to use for the current print job and chooses the proper tray all by itself.

Drawbacks and Additional Information

An issue that arose for reviewers: the output paper tray only hold up to 50 sheets at a time, clogging up the receiving belt. Also, without Ethernet connectivity, it's a bad idea for large office environments. However, for the home and small business user, it's a great choice. The scanner is designed without a hinge, making it difficult to scan thick media.

The Photosmart 7520 is a great choice for home offices or average users who find cloud printing enticing and require a fax machine. Strangely enough, it is about $200, which is $50 less expensive than the 7510.