Canon Selphy CP790

Canon Selphy CP790

At first glance, the Canon Selphy CP790 snapshot printer looks more like a lime-green lunch pail. With its convenient handle, it begs you to take it to your next children's party or family get-together. The trade-offs are a high purchase price ($180 on 11/9/09) and oddly designed, wasteful consumables. The 3.2-pound printer acts as the top-heavy lid of an oval bucket. Plastic latches secure the printer to the bucket. The bucket is divided into two compartments for storing the AC adapter, paper caddies, and supplies. To make the printer truly portable, you'll need to buy the rechargeable lithium ion battery pack ($80). A Bluetooth adapter costs $50. The top control panel consists of compass-style navigation controls and five logically labeled and intuitive control buttons. Menu items display on a 3-inch color LCD above the buttons. You can print directly from one of three media card readers or from a PictBridge-connected device. You can also transfer images via an infrared port on the front panel. If you install the printer on a PC, you can use Ulead Photo Express LE, an application that allows you to organize your photos and add effects to them. Canon does not include a USB cable with the printer.