Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 10

Dear Members,

I'm looking to get a modem for my Visor and can't decide between the Xircom model and the Thincom model. Any suggestions? I'm curious about the good/bad of each.
I also have yet to figure out how to access my mail with one, as I am using a cable modem for my home computer( I can't find any info from them on how to access my mail remotely). If anyone is doing so, I'd love to hear from you!
Thanks!

Jeremy Herrington
[email protected]

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: SoCal
Posts: 115

I just finished a 2 week road trip using the Xircom modem - it worked fine but it wasn't flawless. My Visor did freeze a few times and required a soft reset but it's hard to tell if that was always a problem with the modem since it almost always happened after all of the messages were downloaded. Sometimes I thing it was and ISP problem - it doesn't always close out smoothly on my PC. I also think the Xircom is very sensitive to low battery power and it does not provide any kind of warning.

The reasons I went with the Xircom at the time was Speed, separate battery supply, and it came with MultiMail Pro installed -ThinModem's apps are demos. I also liked the idea of being able to use any phone cord not the special cord required for the Thincom. I also took advantage of a $50 rebate coupon.

In reality I'm not so sure any of those things except for the speed would be all that much of a priority if I were buying it today. The MultiMail Pro is the older v2.2 - I used the money from the rebate to purchase the newer v3.1 since there was no reduced $ upgrade path. I thought I'd prefer not to drain the Visor batteries so the the separate battery pack seemed like a good idea - not I'm not so sure - I'd like to see some kind of low battery warning - at least with the ThinModem you would get that via the Visor. I understand Xircom will be coming out with rechargeable battery packs so they may be able to address some of the battery problems in the future.

The phone cord vs the dongle. Not needing a special cord worked well on my trip - I probably prefer it over ThinModem's dongle one - there was talk of an adapter but don't know if that's available yet - but again something else to keep track of.

While the Xircom is not as large as the Handspring modem the battery pack does add to the overall dimension and weight. The advantage of the ThinModem - it's the same size as the Backup and 8MB modules.

If you need to send faxes I think the Xircom is the only one that is capable of doing it at this time.

I use Avantgo and it handled the modem sync smoothly - I never had it hang on that - just downloading mail.

I think the battery choice is a toss-up as will be speed when ThinModem upgrades. If you want small form and can keep track of a cord or adapter the ThinModem works well. If you need a mail program and can live with the stripped version of MM Pro then Xircom is a good buy with the included software. (It also comes with AvantGo)

Just my $.05 worth

Registered: Feb 2000
Location: El Segundo,CA
Posts: 374

Re: the adapter:
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/net...dem.html?page=2

__________________
My Treo has more memory than I do.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Warren, OH, USA
Posts: 57

battery replacement for Xircom

I have been using a StarTac(from Motorola) rechargeable battery with my Xircom Springport modem for about two weeks with no problems at all. I like the modem and have not had to do any resets since the first day of getting used to it.

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 434

The Thincom works fine, and it will get that upgrade to 56kbps soon. Contrary to one of the posts above, it does come with one non-demo app, Browse-it (from Puma Technologies). I believe that Browse-it is Pumatech's first "in-house" release of what used to be ProxiWeb. However, I would forget about the bundled apps that ship with the modems, as what is probably most important is e-mail; and you're going to have to buy or otherwise get a replacement anyway. Also, the cord really isn't big deal. You're going to want to get a nice spooled cord anyway, and these are available for both modules. So. What are we left with?

I say it comes down to price and form factor. That should make your decision much easier. If I were in the market for a SB modem, I'd just buy the least expensive one. You really can't go wrong with any of the modem modules, including the bulky and permanently slow Handspring module!

Registered: Sep 2000
Location:
Posts: 45

Thincomm and network Hotsync

I noticed that you said in yopur original posting that you have a cable modem installed. I too have a cable modem and have come up with this solution: I leave my PC on 24/7 and perform a network Hotsync over the internet using my thincomm modem to my PC to get my e-mail. I then schedule my e-mail program on my PC to send/recieve every 1/2 hour. This usually works like a charm. Sometimes however, my Visor resets and I lose al my data. I recommend using the backup module to save your data before doing this.