[Ed. note: This is the follow up to Part One of my review on the HP Printing Mailbox and Presto Service, which can be read here.]
Shortly after Christmas, the large box containing the HP Printing Mailbox made its way from Texas to Florida. Once it had shown up at Papa’s, his step-son Rand unpacked it, unwrapped it, and got it hooked up. According to Rand, the entire process took less than ten minutes.
At the scheduled time Papa received his first Presto email…
Elaine, my ex’s aunt was there to catch some pictures and get Papa’s first impressions. She said, “Dad said it is nice getting the pictures, he really enjoys this aspect a lot. He also likes hearing from family members; it is nice to get their emails.”
“We wondered if because it was using the phone line will someone calling in at the time emails are downloading, will they get a busy signal?”
The answer to that is maybe. If the line tied to the Mailbox has call waiting and voicemail, and a call comes in while the Presto is making its scheduled call to the service, then the incoming call will roll to voicemail. If the line tied to the Mailbox does not have call waiting and voicemail, then yes – the incoming caller will hear a busy signal.
“Also, if someone is on the phone at the scheduled time for emails to be sent, will the machine be called back and send emails later?”
Well, the machine actually makes the calls, so if someone is on the line when it is time for its scheduled call, it will simply make its call later, at the next scheduled time. No worries. 🙂
My ex’s mom wrote to say, “When I talked to him, Papa was very impressed with the machine and again the pictures are a plus for him. His eyes have macular degeneration, so a computer monitor is really hard for him to see – he has to be on top of it and a specific angle. The flat paper picture is much easier for him to “see”, which is still another advantage of this great machine.”
So it looks like the HP Printing Mailbox and Presto Service are a hit! If you have someone that needs to be part of family emails but that doesn’t have a computer, this is a very attractive option that will keep them connected.
The Presto Service and HP Printing Mailbox is available directly from Presto.com.
MSRP: $149.99 for the HP Printing Box, $9.99/month or $99.99/year for the Presto Service, and $34.99 for the 14ml tri-color cartridge
What I Like: Formatted emails without internet service or a computer, this is a great way for seniors to stay in touch with family, up to five different times to “fetch” emails can be programmed in per day, up to five email addresses per mailbox, calls are to a toll-free number, no SPAM – incoming emails must be on white list
What Needs Improvement: Nothing