Toss Your PDA Cables

Richard Baguley

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.

I tested shipping versions of the Xircom Wireless LAN Module for the Palm M500 and the Xircom SpringPort Wireless Ethernet Module for Handspring Visor PDAs, both $299, as well as a preproduction unit of Symbol Technologies' $179 Wireless Networker on a Compaq IPaq with the optional CompactFlash sleeve.

The two Xircom devices are bulky: The SpringPort adds a large hump to the Visor; 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).

By comparison, Symbol's Wireless Networker adapter is only slightly bigger than a CompactFlash memory card.

Testing in a typical office environment, I 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 managing e-mail and Web browsing with it, 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).

The 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 my tests, both lasted around 2 to 3 hours with moderate use. The Symbol Wireless Network draws its charge from the battery of the PDA, bumping down the battery life of the IPaq from its usual 4 to 6 hours to a much skimpier 3 hours or so.

Adapters that use the 802.11b standard can send and receive data at up to 11 mbps. Handhelds lack the processing power to match that speed, so everything is much slower than on a PC. Web browsing on the IPaq or on any PDA using the Palm OS is frustratingly slow. Nor are the devices cheap. The Xircom units cost about 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 heavy PDA users, if the cost and/or the weight of a module is worth it to you.

Buying Information

Symbol Technologies: Wireless Networker This light and easy-to-use adapter adds wireless networking to a Pocket PC, but for most users this addition won't overcome the price. List: $179

Buying Information

Xircom: SpringPort Wireless Ethernet Module Allows Handspring Visor users to sync their PDAs and use the Internet without cables, but it's of limited use to most people. Street: $299

Buying Information

Xircom: Wireless LAN Module If you need it, this module brings the advantages of wireless networking to the Palm M500, but it adds substantial bulk and comes with a steep price tag. Street: $299