A few months ago, I purchased one of HP's laserjets on Amazon. It was cheaper than all the other laserjets.

The trick they play here is that while I was able to get it to print without signing up for the apps or registering, the printer will refuse to print anymore once you have printed ~50 pages. I only hit this because I was printing out a large number of forms (100+ pages) almost immediately after getting the printer.

My suspicion is that they assume the average user won't hit this limit until after the return period is up, so they'll be stuck with a printer that demands registration/app usage/etc. Very sneaky. And if they're willing to trick you like this, what else do they have up their sleeve?

One should avoid "smart" "app"-controlled products (especially when the functionality, network printing, already exists)

Also I think it's illegal to make a working printer.

They will continue as long as people keep buying their printers.

We don't need smarter printers, we need smarter people.