Hewlett Packard Co.'s (HPQ) printing division seems to have taken a cue from the Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone.

H-P on Monday introduced a Web-connected home printer, the $399 Photosmart Premium, which uses its Internet connection to download software programs or "apps" in order to add new customizable printing features.

Gannett Co. Inc.'s (GCI) USA Today newspaper, Google Inc. (GOOG) and DreamWorks Animation will be among the first companies to provide apps for the printer later this year, when the Web-based "HP Apps Studio" opens, H-P announced.

If the set-up sounds familiar, it is. Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple perfected a similar business tactic, in which it distributes software to support sales of a device. The latest incarnation is the Apple iPhone smartphone and its companion online App Store, which 50,000-plus programs to download.

The move is the latest by H-P to right its struggling printing division, which provides about 21% of H-P's revenue. The division's fiscal second-quarter revenue declined 23% from a year ago to $5.9 billion on plummeting printer sales.

Vyometh Joshi, H-P executive vice president, called the new printer, and its app store "an entirely new printing platform."

"By giving people access to the content they want at the touch of a finger, we are driving a significant shift in how people will be printing in the future," he added.

-By Ben Charny, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230; ben.charny@dowjones.com