.KEYWORD modem
.FLYINGHEAD THE INTERNET IN YOUR PALM DEVICE
.TITLE An unsung hero: using the PalmModem
.DEPT
.SUMMARY In his new series, "The Internet in Your Palm device," Michael Connick will take you through the issues surrounding the use of your Palm device as a portal to the Internet. In this first article in the series, he’ll introduce you to the PalmModem, a simple, often overlooked method of connecting your handheld computer to the Web.
.AUTHOR Michael Connick
This is the first article in a series entitled "The Internet in Your Palm device." This series will deal with using your Palm device in one of its most powerful roles: as a portal to the Internet.
The title of this article, "An Unsung Hero," will give you a hint as to why I’m starting this series with a discussion of the PalmModem, pictured in Figure A.
.FIGPAIR A Connect to the Internet using the PalmModem.
The PalmModem is a fairly low-tech device for Internet access, yet it’s a very useful one. It’s a relatively inexpensive and simple device to use for your first attempts to access the Internet, so, although it doesn’t get as much press as those high-tech wireless modems, I consider this device to be an unsung hero for Internet connectivity.
The primary point in favor of the PalmModem is its low cost. It’s relatively cheap to buy and very cheap to use. There certainly aren’t any airtime minutes expended when using it! If connecting to your ISP (Internet Service Provider) is a local call for you, the only cost to use it is the price of batteries.
Because it’s basically free to use, I often end up using my PalmModem more than the wireless solution I have for connecting to the Internet (more on that in next month’s article). In fact, when I’m at home, my PalmModem sits right next to my recliner in the living room. That way I can plug it into the phone line each morning, attach it to my Palm IIIc, and use it to pick up email. It’s certainly far easier and faster to use than going upstairs and booting up my Compaq desktop PC. When is Microsoft ever going to come up with an "instant-on" desktop operating system anyway?
Well, I’m getting a little ahead of myself. First, I should tell you a little more about the PalmModem and how you can use it to access the Internet.
.H1 Technical details
The PalmModem is a 33.6K modem that snaps onto the bottom of a Palm device. I must admit to being a little surprised that the PalmModem is only a 33.6K modem. It’s getting pretty hard these days to find any modem that’s slower than 56K. In reality, for the data volumes I typically deal with on my Palm device, 33.6K turns out to be fast enough.
Different versions of the PalmModem are available for Palm III-series and Palm V-series devices. I bought my own PalmModem directly from Palm, Inc. Palm will sell you a Palm III-series model for $99 plus shipping. The official name of the product is the PalmModem Connectivity Kit. It’s found at http://www.palm.com/products/palmiii/modem.html.
Two-AAA batteries power the PalmModem. The manual states that the batteries will last for about three hours of continuous use. I think that for the typical user, this results in the batteries lasting for months of normal use. Even under the heaviest use, my batteries usually last for at least a couple of weeks. The PalmModem beeps when the batteries fall below 15% capacity.
The PalmModem has an RJ-11 phone jack on its bottom for plugging into a standard phone line. As with all modems, care must be taken to only plug the modem into analog and not digital phone lines. Most office phones and many hotel phones are now digital. Even though the phone jacks may look alike, many digital PBX systems produce a severe over-current that can damage your PalmModem. If you travel a lot and plug into lots of strange phone lines, you should consider buying a "modem saver" device. One company that has a modem saver solution is TeleAdapt, at http://www.teleadaptusa.com/nme/order_solutions.htm. A modem saver will help you quickly identify usable analog telephone lines and protect your PalmModem from damage.
.H1 Software
The PalmModem comes with the following software: MultiMail Pro 2.26, AOL Mail 1.2, and Yahoo Messenger 1.0.
The MultiMail Pro software provided is an older version of this application, not the current 3.1 version. Nevertheless, it’s a capable email package that will likely meet most users’ needs, although it’s not the package I use on my Palm IIIc. In a future article in this series, I’ll discuss the alternatives available to you.
MultiMail Pro will allow you to pick up and send email using most ISPs and business email servers. It won’t work with a secure email server utilizing SSL (Secure Socket Layer), however. In fact, at this time, I’m not aware of any Palm email package that supports SSL. This is unfortunate because I’m finding more and more business email servers becoming security conscious and implementing SSL.
Of course, AOL Mail can be used by AOL subscribers to pick up and send email. I’m not an AOL user, so I can’t offer any comment on this software.
Yahoo Messenger allows you to use the free Yahoo instant messaging service. I used it for a while, and it worked just fine. I’ve since replaced it with AIM (AOL Instant Messenger). AIM is free, even if you’re not an AOL customer. There’s really not all that much difference between Yahoo Messenger and AIM, except for the fact that far more people use AOL Instant Messaging than use Yahoo’s service.
.H1 Other uses for the PalmModem
So, what else can you do with a PalmModem? Well, for one thing, you can use it to surf the Web. If you already have AvantGo installed on your Palm device, you can use that program to access Web pages. Just use the Open Page command under the Channels menu. The AvantGo browser supports cookies and SSL.
Alternatively, if you don’t have AvantGo on your Palm device, or you would like to use a more sophisticated browser on it, you can try Blazer. It’s downloadable for free at http://www.bluelark.com. This advanced browser supports bookmarks, SSL, cookies, and the WAP (Wireless Access Protocol) and CHTML (Compact Hypertext Markup Language, used by Japan’s wildly popular i-mode service protocols), in addition to HTML. Neither AvantGo nor Blazer support JavaScript or Java applets.
A warning: Web surfing with a Palm device can be SLOOOOW! Remember, not only are you using a relatively slow modem, but the processor on your Palm unit is much slower than the PC you’re used to using for Web surfing. You also have much less memory and a very tiny screen compared to a PC. Web surfing on a Palm device works best with those pages that are specially designed for a small screen. A future article in this series will cover effective Web surfing using a Palm device in detail.
In addition to accessing the Web with a browser, you can use Web Clipping applications, also known as PQAs (Palm Query Applications). That’s right, those PQAs designed to work on a wireless Palm VII work just fine with an old-fashioned modem. In fact, they work much faster with a PalmModem connection as opposed to a wireless connection on a Palm VII. That’s because the Palm VII communicates wirelessly with Palm.Net at a pokey 9.6 KPBS. So your 33.6 KPBS modem is suddenly hot stuff!
In order to utilize PQAs, you’ll need to add the Web clipping software to your Palm device. The easiest way to accomplish this is to buy the Palm Mobile Internet Kit at http://www.palm.com/software/mik/. You can buy it from Palm’s Web site for $39.95. It’ll work on just about any Palm device the PalmModem will work with, but check the Palm Web site for compatible models just to be safe. You can find a review of the Palm Mobile Internet Kit in the January issue of PalmPower’s Enterprise Edition at http://www.palmpowerenterprise.com/issues/issue200101/mik001.html.
Currently there are about 500 PQAs available for the Palm device. You can find most of them on the Palm.Net Web site. In order to give you some idea of the breadth of PQAs available, the categories Palm.Net uses to organize them on their site are as follows:
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET Communications;
.BULLET Enterprise;
.BULLET Financial;
.BULLET News;
.BULLET Reference and directories;
.BULLET Shopping;
.BULLET Travel and entertainment.
.END_LIST
As I write this, the second most popular PQA download from Palm.Net is the Starbucks Coffee Store Locator!
Finally, you can use your PalmModem to remotely HotSync your Palm device with your PC. There’s even a HotSync button on the PalmModem just like the one on your Palm unit’s cradle.
Although this sounds like a really nifty function, in reality I’ve never used it. I guess I’m never away from my PC or laptop for so long that the need for a remote HotSync was all that compelling. Also, for it to work, I would need to leave my PC turned on the whole time I’m traveling. That’s something that doesn’t sound all that appealing to me.
.H1 Documentation
The documentation that comes with the PalmModem is minimal. For example, in the Connection Preferences section, it describes the purpose of the Flow Control and Init Strings, but it doesn’t explain the correct settings for these fields. In most cases the default values for any of the configuration fields are the ones you want.
Another thing that’s not described in the documentation is how to initiate a call to an ISP. This actually happens automatically. Whatever software you use, whether it’s an email package or a Web browser, it will automatically initiate a call when it needs to connect to the Web. For example, if you’re using AvantGo, and you try to open a Web page, a call will be made to the number you currently have configured in your PalmModem.
Hanging up an active connection is also not discussed in the documentation. If the Idle Timeout setting in Connection Preferences is set to Power Off, which is the default setting, this is very easy to do. Just press your Palm device’s power button to shut off the device. Don’t be alarmed that your Palm unit doesn’t immediately shut off. It will first send commands to the modem to terminate the connection. After a short delay to execute the commands, your Palm device will finally shut off.
.H1 Conclusion
In conclusion, the PalmModem is a great little low cost hardware accessory for the Palm device owner. It’ll allow you to send and receive email, surf the Web, use PQAs, and perform remote HotSync operations wherever you’re able to connect to an analog phone line. Not a bad deal for only $99!
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on the PalmModem, visit http://www.palm.com/products/palmiii/modem.html.
For modem saver solutions, visit http://www.teleadaptusa.com/nme/order_solutions.htm.
For more information on MultiMail Pro, visit http://www.actualsoft.com.
For more information on the Palm Mobile Internet Kit, visit http://www.palm.com/software/mik/.
For the review of the Palm Mobile Internet Kit in the January issue of PalmPower’s Enterprise Edition, visit http://www.palmpowerenterprise.com/issues/issue200101/mik001.html.
For more information on AvantGo, visit http://www.avantgo.com.
For more information on Blazer, visit http://www.bluelark.com.
For more information on the Starbucks Coffee Store Locator, visit http://wireless.palm.net/apps/users/main/1,1019,,00.html.
For more information about Palm computers, visit http://www.palm.com.
.H1 Bulk reprints
Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO Michael Connick is a Senior Project Manager at BusinessEdge Solutions, Inc. He can be reached on his Palm IIIc at mconnick@monmouth.com.
.DISCUSS http://powerboards.zatz.com/cgi-bin/webx?50@@.ee6ef5b
