REVIEWS / MFPS / HEWLETT PACKARD, PERSONAL SYSTEM GROUP, INDIA

HP Photosmart C310a - Slightly Expensive for an MFP

11 Jun, 2011, 3:44 pm IST | by Ashish Koshy | MFPs MFPs

Good performance but a little expensive as well

Good performance but a little expensive as well
Very minimal memory slots
Ports behind only include Ethernet, no USB 2.0 support
sturdy and attractive

PRICE IN INDIA

14,999

TECH2 RATING

6.5

AVERAGE USER RATING

How we test

CONTACT

Hewlett Packard, Personal System Group, India

 NA

 +91 11 2638 8000/ Toll free: 1800 4254 999

 http://www8.hp.com/in/en/home.html

HP has been a competitive player in the MFP (Multi Function Printer) market for a very long time. As home users demand more features out of their printers, manufacturers have to implement features and improve performance for photo printing and more. HP’s Photosmart series of MFPs are designed specifically for home and SoHo users. The model we’re looking at today is the Photosmart C310a, which boasts of Wi-Fi capabilities and more.

Design and Build Quality
Although the Photosmart C310a is a bit of a household all-in-one printer, its looks are attractive. Like most MFP designs, there’s a lid that opens the scanning screen. Users can adjust settings and also use preloaded apps using the touchpad. Below the touchpad are two paper trays, one for the standard A4 size sheets and the other for 4x6-inch glossy paper for photo printing.

sturdy and attractive

Sturdy and attractive

 


The C310a has a glossy finish at the top - it gives the printer a classy look but it also attracts smudges. At the same time, it’s simpler to clean when dust does settle on it. The rest of the body is built with a matte finish. The build quality of the trays is sturdier than the Canon Pixma 6170. A SD/MMC port is housed at the lower left of the printer. There is no Sony MemoryStick, XD or USB support on the printer. The Pixma 6170 in comparison had all of these memory card reader features. Also there’s an Ethernet jack meant to connect the MFP to the internet

Features
The C310a can print, scan and copy, as well. There is no fax feature though. HP has included apps like Snapfish, Crayola, tabbloid, DreamWorks and Web Sudoku. Not all of the apps work here in India. Snapfish lets you share and personalize photos over the internet; tabbloid lets you print blogs from different RSS feeds.

Very minimal memory slots

Very minimal memory slots

 


The interface is a lot more intuitive and a lot easier to use than HP’s OfficeJet 7500a’s interface. Quite often, there are times when an option is clicked, but it responds a little late, but on a whole the interface is quite smooth. The C310a can take print commands over the network using Ethernet and it also has Wi-Fi printing capabilities.

Tags: HP Photosmart C310a , HP , Hewlett Packard , Photosmart , C310a , MFP , Multi Function Printer , Wi-Fi , Ethernet , photo printers

Would you buy it?




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The ratings awarded to a product are derived from a number of tests and calculations, keeping certain important factors in mind. These factors consist of features, performance, quality and value for money. In case of software and some other categories, build quality might be replaced with ease of use or ease of installation. Products are compared with other products in a similar price range or product category.


Features
The features component of the score is rated based on the kind of features present on a particular product. Features are a big part of what people look for when they’re buying a new product such as a phone or a camera.

Performance
The performance score is derived from the benchmarks and tests run on the product. In case of the subjective scores, an average of the scores given by the group of reviewers is considered.

Build Quality
The build quality of a product is important so that it doesn’t fall apart after some use. The build quality scores from the way the product is designed and the kind of materials used in the product.

Value
Value for money comes from the fact that a cheap product is able to provide most of the performance of a higher priced product. Once again, value for money is judged by comparing pricing and performance of products in a particular price range or category. 

There are many other aspects of the product that are looked at such as the bundled software and accessories. All of these scores are aggregated together to form the final score.

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The product is bad in almost every aspect. We strongly advise against purchasing this product.

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Product with this rating is highly recommended because it's priced sensibly, has a good set of features and performs well.

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