Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 714

Okay, I would like to purchase a modem for my Prism and I will need it late February/early March. I'd like to get your opinions on the current modems available.

I've narrowed my choices down to either the thinmodem or the Xircom, so I was wondering if those who have them could answer a few questions?

1. How much onboard memory does each give you access to? Its hard to find this, not in the FAQs.
2.Is the dongle a hassle, is the large size of the Xircom a hassle?
3. With the Thinmodem, since it apparently tricks the battery into thinking its lower than it actually is, am I going to have trouble with leaving it in my Prism for about 6 hours of on and off use (Which usually results in about 30%-50% left).
4. Can you run PQAs off the Flash ram of the modem? These are things I certainly don't need when my modem isn't inserted.

Right now I'm leaning toward the ThinModem, forboth size and what I believe to be a large Flash Ram. What I would REALLY like is the ThinModem+ but it seems no one knows the expected ship date. I would imagine another couple of months since they just recently started their beta.

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Matt Nichols
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Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Lawrence, NY, USA
Posts: 148

quote:

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Originally posted by Matthew Nichols
Okay, I would like to purchase a modem for my Prism and I will need it late February/early March. I'd like to get your opinions on the current modems available.

<SNIP>

What I would REALLY like is the ThinModem+ but it seems no one knows the expected ship date. I would imagine another couple of months since they just recently started their beta.

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Life's just a blast, just it's moving really fast, and you'd <BR>better stay on top or life'll kick you in the ass -Limp Bizkit

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 391

The Xircom modem has been reportedly suffering from software reliability problems.

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Rev. Peter da Silva, ULC<br>
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Registered: Aug 2000
Location: Glen Burnie, Maryland
Posts: 205

I have the Thincomm modem and I highly recommend it. The battery drop comes from use, and the battery will recover some its charge after use. You shouldn't have a problem with the battery dropping too low on the Prism. If you are concerned about it, try playing with the screen brightness setting on the Prism to find a happy medium. The lower the brighntness setting, the longer the battery life.

There is 500K of Flash Ram available for use on the modem. They load their apps in there, but if you get the latest update, you can access the ram and put your own apps there.
Never tried the PQA storage there, so I can't attest to that.

As for the dongle, the Thincom comes with a 6ft phone cord dongle. I recommend spending the extra $8 ($5 plus $3 shipping) and getting the 4inch dongle that accepts a phone cord (female fitting) as it is more practical. I haven't found it to be any problem with the exception of removing the dongle from the modem. If you remove the dongle while leaving the modem in the Visor, (mine stays in all the time) make sure you have a grip on the modem or you will pull the modem out of the Springboard slot. Once you get the hang of it, no big deal. Good luck on your decision.

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Sven

If at first you do succeed, try not to look astonished.