Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) introduced Cloud Print this week, which enables you to print a document from your mobile phone to a configured printer. In the Google Mobile Blog post announcing the feature, it used the example of getting an email with an attachment on your phone on the way to work, clicking print and finding the print out when you get to work--sounds pretty nice.

However, in order to use Cloud Print, you must download Google Chrome, which supports Cloud Print, and unfortunately, is only available for Windows Vista and Windows 7. That's fairly limiting as far as I'm concerned. You can't use it on a Mac, Linux or running Windows XP (which many still do).

All that said though, the real beauty of this approach is that it uses the Internet for printing. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) offers AirPrint, but requires WiFi, which means you really have to at least be in the same building. With Cloud Print, you can be anywhere and print to any configured printer. 

The other advantage, and this is incredible, is it eliminates the need for drivers. I'm not sure how this works, but it simply transmits a print command. If your printer is off at the time, it places it in the print queue and it will print as soon as it's turned on.

I tested this on a Dell laptop running Windows 7. After installing Chrome, and configuring the Chrome options to turn on Cloud Printing, it simply found my configured printer and let me print a test page. There was a delay of a couple of minutes from when I clicked the button to print and when it reached my printer, but the result was clean, clear print out with color. 

There is a level of convenience here that is incredible for supported users, and when Google gets around to supporting Mac and Linux, it will be even better.

For more information:
- see the Google mobile blog post
- see the Cloud Print FAQ

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