Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)When you're buying a modem for a pocket computer, you're probably not interested in bells and whistles; you want something that's as small and as reliable as possible, that will let you connect to the Internet and check your email or surf the Web.
The Pretec modem fits that need perfectly. There's no flashing LEDs, no driver discs; the box contains nothing but the tiny modem, a phone cord and a brief instruction manual. (There's not even an AOL disc. They must be slipping.)
I was able to get connected in less than ten minutes, without touching the instruction manual. Just slip the modem into the slot, plug in the phone cord, set up a few basic connection settings, and you're off and running. If your ISP supports WIndows dialup networking, it will very probably support this.
The manual is the weak spot; the installation settings it describes on page 7 and 8 may well not match up with those needed. Since the dialogs used to configure the Pocket PC are quite similar to the dialogs used to set up Windows dial-up networking, you'll want to have your ISP's setup instructions available.
In conclusion, this product is certainly more than worthwhile; it gives you full-featured dialup capabilities in only a few cubic inches of space.
One final caveat: This product is also known as the "Pocket PC Email Expansion Pack". If you've just purchased a Pocket PC, you may find that there's a special offer included for this expansion pack, and you'll want to check out that offer's pricing and terms before deciding where to buy.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Pretec 56k Compact Flash Modem for PDA/ Pocket PC & portable devices w/ CF slot
Pretec's CompactModem is among the first and smallest 56 Kbps fax/data modem cards for Pocket PCs and Windows CE-based PDAs and handheld PCs. It allows you to browse the Internet and send or receive both faxes and e-mails from your Pocket PC device. All you need is an ordinary household analog phone line to connect to and you are ready to go. The Pretec CompactModem is compatible with both CompactFlash I and II card slots. It supports data transfer at speeds up to 56 Kbps and fax transmission at 14.4 Kbps. This card features low 3.3-volt power consumption and innovative power management, including programmable sleep modes, so it won't drain precious battery resources from your Pocket PC.
Pretec's fax/modem also supports the V.80 application interface, so it is capable of operating with any H.324 video phone system. This functionality provides you with affordable video conferencing over ordinary telephone lines. By adding an optional CompactFlash adapter, the card becomes a PC card for use with most notebook computers and instruments with PCMCIA slots. Pretec's CompactModem works with Windows 95, 98, NT, and, most importantly, Pocket PC and Windows CE environments. For a complete list of compatible devices, click Technical Data in the left navigation bar.
