Re: Recommendation of GSM/GPRS modem

Werner,

First, let me say that I'm avid reader of your blog, and I've taken the
liberty of quoting your excellent articles and/or linking to them while
replying in the many forums where I'm a member, including Israeli forums.

Back to my question, at the moment I have a Nokia 6230i cell phone which
works fine, but it's very slow. This is why I'm interested in a modem.

I have the phone from work, where the other alternative is a Nokia 6100,
which doesn't have BT.

I have no problem regarding the battery, as I have 2 1100 MaH batteries, and
have just purchased a 2200MaH additional battery.

Further, I'm usually not connected for long periods of time, or have large
downloads (In the case of emails, this depends of course on the size of
attachments). I usually use this functionality when I'm away from home or my
office. mostly while on vacations or abroad. So 3G is not a necessity.

At the moment I don't want to invest too much money, especially since I plan
to upgrade my PDA to an integrated device within a year or so (ie a device
which shall include phone capabilities and a built-in GPS, besides all the
goodies my current X50 includes). But this is in the future.

And another question; would such a modem be faster than using my 6230i?

Thank you,

Daniel




Werner Ruotsalainen (MVP - Mobile Devices) wrote:
Unfortunately, all CF-based phone cards are GPRS only (meaning about 40-
50 kbps maximal downlink and 10-20 kbps uplink speed) - that is, not even
EDGE, not to speak of any kind of 3G.

Furthermore, as these cards use the battery of your PDA, you'll also have
to face the problem of the greatly reduced battery time.

That is, what I recommend is getting a decent BT phone that supports
either EDGE or, even better, 3G. There're some "dumb" phones that do
this; for example, the Nokia 6230: it's EDGE only and can be bought for
quite cheap now. Unfortunately, most other "dumb" phonesdon't support EDGE,
let alone even faster connection forms. This is definitely bad news.

If you aren't afraid of paying even more, consider getting a smartphone
to be used as a modem. Any HTC Pocket PC phone PDA's can be used as BT
modems - please see my blog for a complete tutorial on them. So are
Symbian Smartphones; for example, the Nokia N70 (EDGE/3G). Unfortunately,
these smartphones are all very expensive, particularly the HTC PE
devices. (The N70 is cheaper but is still around 300-400 bucks)

Verdict: if the EDGE speed (about 200-220 kbps at most) is OK with you
(and you don't need 3G speeds), get a dumb BT phone. It'll be even
cheaper than a CF GSM/GPRS card. Furthermore, they can be used as phones
as well, unlike CF cards. (Please also see my remarks on the usability of
these CF-based phone cards in my blog. Sorry for not giving you exact
URL's this time: I'm not on my desktop PC but on my PDA, which also means
very reduced browing and searching capabilities)

Hi,

[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
sync cable, which connects there on one end, and has a USB connector at the
other end. But I don't know whether this type of connection is supported.

I plan to use my SIM card with the BT modem, so as not to be tied up to a
local company while abroad.
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]

Daniel


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