> Hardware is primitive and some enterprising company can devise a much nicer interface and probably at 1/4th price.

But nobody bothers, because they all know that HP can offer it at 1/4 the price, too—and less. Nobody touches HP's margins, because HP can survive on much smaller margins than any startup ever could. Why start a price war you could only lose?

> How is replacing a offline device with a connected app better?

For one, the web app is free. They also have free iOS and Android apps that presumably work offline.

There are phone apps too. It is better because you don't need an ad hoc device, but you can use this multi-tool that everyone has instead.