TESTED: Xircom’s Wireless Ethernet & Wireless LAN Modules

Pro

Using a wireless network has obvious benefits. You can browse the Web and send e-mail without worrying about cables. Now PDA users can enjoy such advantages, thanks to new adapters for Palm, Handspring and Pocket PC PDAs that use the 802.11b wireless Ethernet protocol. 

We tested the Xircom Wireless LAN Module for the Palm M500 and the Xircom SpringPort Wireless Ethernet Module for Handspring Visor PDAs.

The two Xircom devices are bulky. The SpringPort adds a large hump to the Visor and the Wireless LAN Module is of the same size and weight as the Palm M500 itself (somewhat defeating the point of such a sleek handheld).

Testing in a typical office, we found that the devices could connect up to about 90 feet away from the access point — the same range other 802.11b devices have — and worked well on various access points (which provide a bridge between the wireless network and the wired one). 

Besides using the connection to manage e-mail and browse the Web, you can use the connection to sync your PDA with a computer on the local network, but you can’t sync over the Internet. The devices also allow roaming between different access points (if the network supports the capability).

These Xircom devices include built-in batteries and recharge at the same time as the PDA does, through the cradle. But the charge runs down faster for the adapters than for the PDAs. In our tests, both Xircom device’s battery power lasted around two to three hours with moderate use. 

Adapters that use the 802.11b standard can send and receive data at up to 11Mbit/s. Handhelds lack the processing power to match that speed, so everything is much slower than on a PC. Web browsing on the Compaq Ipaq, or on any PDA using the Palm OS, is frustratingly slow. Nor are the devices cheap. The Xircom units cost nearly as much as the PDAs they attach to.

Sending e-mail directly from a PDA without having to sync is useful. In addition, going wireless could bring a new dimension to instant messaging and make life easier for those who use PDAs a lot, if the cost and/or the weight of a module doesn’t put them off.

Specs
Xircom SpringPort Wireless Ethernet Module

• This module allows Handspring Visor users to sync their PDAs with a PC and the use the Internet without cables, but it’s of limited use to most people.
• Price £224
• Contact Carraig Systems +353 (0)1-473 7822
• Rating 6/10