Owners of iPads, iPhones and iPod touches will have to wait until November.

    One of the features conspicuously missing in the iPad when it launched in April was a way to print documents. Five months later, early adopters are still waiting for Apple (AAPL) to deliver this most basic function.

    So it didn't help much Wednesday when Apple issued a press release announcing the release of a beta version of AirPrint -- its wireless printing solution for iOS devices -- but only for registered developers, and only to Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) ePrint printers or printers shared with a Mac or PC.

    According to Apple, the finished version of AirPrint will be included free in iOS 4.2, due in November.

    In the meantime, a couple dozen third party solutions have appeared on the App Store. We've been using something called PrintBureau, with mixed success.