Printer apps??? What's the use?

The battle of the apps was started long ago in the mobile phone industry.  All the cell phone manufacturers are trying to outdo each other with the most apps.

HP is putting apps on some printers now.  I am not sure I get it. 

Click here to surf over to Hewlett Packard's web site where you can see all the cool apps they are putting on printers.

Here's my question:

• Why would you go to your printer rather than using your computer to print the same thing?

Let's look at some of the apps from HP's app store:

Delta Air Lines:
"Avoid long lines at the airport. Check-in and print your boarding pass for your next Delta flight."
Wouldn't you just print your boarding flight from your computer?


Sesame Street Printables:

"Enjoy Sesame Street coloring pages, educational activities, and books from the Sesame Street eBookstore."
When my kids ask for coloring pages, we usually google the character name with the words "coloring pages".

Yahoo! Digest:

"Get today's top stories from the internet's #1 source for news."
Why would you print the news?



I love gadgets.  Others like me may like the idea of printer apps just because it's cool.  So I'll give a high-five to HP for that.  I've certainly wasted my share of time making something work just because I could.

Give me your opinion.  Do you think printer apps will be the next big thing?