Update on the Canon Pixma MP800R. I got it installed late Sunday. This is a great product.
BTW, after posting the link to Wal-Mart.com ($298 price, $100 off list) on your site last Thursday (July 14th news page), I see that they were sold out of this model by Friday afternoon. (Update: As of July 30th, their price is now $398.)

(Here's a summary list of the MP800R's features. For full details see the Canon Pixma MP800R product page)

• Network ready for Wi-Fi (802.11b/g with WPA support) and ethernet networks
• 3.5" LCD Viewer
• Print up to 9600 x 2400 color dpi with microscopic droplets as small as 1 picoliter using FINE print head technology
• ChromaLife100 system for long lasting, beautiful photos
• Borderless 4"x6" photo in approx. 36 seconds
• Direct photo printing from select memory cards and PictBridge ready devices
• Scan 35mm slides and negatives with up to 19,200 x 19,200 dpi software enhanced resolution

The MP800R comes with a note that states that newer drivers are available on Canon's web site. It also recommends running the enclosed setup CD first before upgrading the drivers. Even though this is a network printer, it must be connected to a computer by USB so that the installer can configure the network interface. The setup was easy and automatic. I am using the wired ethernet connection. It appears that the wired and wireless network connections cannot be used at the same time. (see below for notes on wireless networking from another MP800R user.-Mike)

The printer driver is very similar to the driver I have used for my Canon PIXMA iP8500. The driver will install a new selection in the Mac OS Printer Browser for "Canon IJ Network".

Printing works as expected and acts just like a direct USB connection. I printed a few documents from Adobe Reader, Microsoft Word, and Entougrage, and I had no issues. It has a built-in duplexer for two-sided printing. Printing is fairly quick, but it does take the MP a bit of time to get primed. Printing is also very quiet. I think my old Hewlett-Packard deskjet 5550 was faster, but the Canon's quality is better.

Part of the software installed is an app called "MP Navigator". This application is used to access the various features of the MP800R in their simplest form. The application is very easy to use. I was able to scan a document over my network in just a few seconds without reading the manual. The default settings are all automatic including image size and resolution, but the settings are easily modified and saved. For instance, if you normally like scanning the entire scanner glass, you can set the default setting to scan the entire glass. (My HP scanner that the MP800R replaces, had no provision to save modified defaults. It always scanned at 200 dpi with auto size selection. Drove me nuts.) The MP Navigator has a preferences section, where it looks like you can choose different apps to run for various functions. Unfortunately in this version of the software, it does not appear that the chosen apps can be modified. For instance, the Edit Photo Images app is ArcSoft Photo Studio. I would rather it be Photoshop. Attach To E-mail is set to Mail, and I can't change it to Entourage.
Hopefully this will be fixed later. (Or after I read the manual!) The MP Navigator also links to a full blown scanning app called ScanGear MP. It has all the settings you would expect in a professional scanning application. There is no Photoshop plugin (at least I can't find it), but scanning from Photoshop is supported. (I asked if there was a Twain plugin and he wrote-Mike)
Found it. Library : Image Capture : TWAIN Data Sources has Canon Scanning apps in it.

The HP scanner I am replacing often had it's software crash when trying to scan to Photoshop. So far, I'm more pleased with the Canon MP800R than I ever was with my dedicated HP ScanJet 4570c.

Another program installed is the Canon IJ Network Scan Utility. This program allows the MP800R to see your computer on the network. This allows scanning from the control panel of the MP800R to any computer running the utility, and saves you from having to run back and forth between the MP and your computer. A nice little program to have with a networked scanner.

Scanning over the network is a bit slower that a direct USB connection, but for me, I really like the convenience of being to scan from any computer in the house.

The Canon MP800R also includes OmniPage SE for Optical Character Recognition scanning, ArcSoft PhotoStudio 4 for photo editing and Canon Easy-PhotoPrint. PhotoStudio looks like a old piece of OS 9 software. I doubt that I will use it, since I use Photoshop and iPhoto. I haven't tried OmniPage SE yet. Canon Easy-PhotoPrint is actually a nice little piece of software that makes it very easy to print your photos. Unlike iPhoto, the Canon software is programmed with all of the different types and sizes of Canon Photo Paper. This makes is much easier to lay out multiple photos on a single sheet of paper and to take advantage on the printer's borderless printing. You can do it all in iPhoto, and I have with my iP8500, but I think it's easier with this program.

I also tried printing a few photos from the MP800R's built-in card reader. This was very fast and easy. The quality was not quite as good as my iP8500, but that is to be expected as the MP800R only has 5 (corrected) tanks of ink vs the iP8500's eight.

One really nice feature is the MP800R's built in transparency adapter for printing and scanning slides and negatives. I slipped in a strip of negatives and within a few seconds, the images were automatically scanned, cropped and displayed on the built-in screen and ready for printing.

Over all, I find the Canon MP800R to be a excellent Multi-Function device and a very good photo printer. (FYI - Faxing is not supported on this model.) Out of the box, it is performing as expected. The software installed is working and is un-obtrusive. Canon had done a good job with the software for Mac. It hands-down beats the Hewlett-Packard devices it is replacing. Without the network interface, this is a great device. With the network interface, it's really outstanding, and I highly recommend it.

My only complaints so far - the plastic is very prone to scratching just like my iP8500. I already scratched the top on mine trying to wipe the dust of it. The paper output tray is a door like on Canon's other PIXMA printers. It is designed to be closed when not in use. This is a bit odd for a network printer. I plan on leaving the door open. Like the rest of the PIXMA line, Canon has chosen to leave out the DVD/CD printing capability that is standard in the rest of the world.
-Mike J.

Reader Replies:

(in reply to Mike J.'s original "6 ink tanks" comment, which was a mistake)
"Hi Mike, It should be noted that the Canon MP800R is not actually a "6-color" photo printer - it's a 5-color according to Canon's specs (see Canon Pixma MP800R product page-Mike) and what is included in the box. It uses the typical 4-color CMYK plus a Pigment Black cartridge - there are no light cyan or light magenta ink cartridges like would be used in a 6-color printer. This affects photo quality despite the high resolution and small drop size.
Personally, I prefer having a separate Canon LIDE scanner and Canon iP6600D photo printer (true 6-color with the same 1-picoliter drop size, built-in card reader and LCD screen, etc.) than an all in one unit, but I'm sure the wireless aspect and small footprint is attractive to some people.
-Michael"

Wireless Use:

"I use the wireless on the Canon at work. I have it setup for use on 4 computers throughout our plant. It works well. You can scan and send the scan directly to any of the networked computers that have the Canon software installed. A list of the machines is provided on the front LCD. My only complaint is that it drinks ink like crazy.
I also tried the negative film tray just for fun. Worked as advertised.
-Ryan S."

Printer Failure(s):

(added 7/30/2006)
"Hi, Mike, I thought I should let you know that my Canon MP800R that I just purchased has died. I installed it two weeks ago and have been using it without any issues. I really is a nice system for everyday use. Last night, I made some changes to my network, so I needed to power cycle the printer so it would get a new IP address. I turned the unit off and unplugged it from the wall for about 30 seconds and plugged it back in. When I turned it back on, the printer started running its first-time setup again. I didn't think too much about it. Once I completed the setup, I realized all of my settings were gone, and to top things off, all of the common US paper sizes were also gone. I tried unplugging it again, and it went back to first-time setup. This time I also realized that it was also coming up with Japanese as the default language.

I called Canon Tech Support this morning, and they have concluded that the EEPROM in the printer has failed and the printer lost all settings when I pulled the power. It even lost the factory settings for the US market. The default market settings are Japan.

Unfortunately, Canon has no new MP800R's in stock for replacement. I guess they normally exchange a defective product for a new one if it dies in the first 30 days. They gave me the option of having it repaired locally or getting an express exchange for a reconditioned unit from Canon by 2nd Day Air. I chose to get the reconditioned unit.

I was pleased with the phone support I received from Canon. The first tech I got knew nothing about Macs so she transferred me to another tech who was Mac savvy. He was very knowledgeable about the product and had me try some things which confirmed the problem with the EEPROM.
Mike J."

He later wrote the replacement also had an infant failure:

(8/4/2006)
" Mike, I received my replacement Canon MP800R yesterday. It has also failed with similar symptoms as my first one.
I installed it yesterday and all was fine. Tonight, I tested all of the features on the replacement unit before I packed up my original printer. As a final test, I turned the unit off and unplugged it. When I plugged it back in, it had reset to the Japanese region and lost all settings and ran first-time setup. This is not good. Canon is now trying to say that I must be having “power surges” even though the unit has been plugged into a UPS and a surge suppressor that powers most of my computer equipment. In fact the MP800R is plugged into the same power source as my Canon iP8500 which has been working fine for over a year.

Canon is sending me yet another unit and has specified that I plug it into a different power source. This failure is slightly different that the first, as after the initial “reset/failure” subsequent power cycles have not caused a loss of settings. In fact, if I could reset the region to USA, this printer would probably work. I asked the Canon tech about resetting the region, but he said he could not allow me to do that.
-Mike J. "

I welcome other feedback on this or other AIO printer/scanners with Macs - still looking for one that works well and can Fax from OS X.