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Although it was promised well over a year ago, the SpringPort Wireless Ethernet (SWE) adaptor has only just appeared from Xircom.
Designed to exclusively fit Handspring PDAs, the Xircom brings full WiFi (802.11b) wireless networking to the Palm OS device, allowing you to connect wirelessly to networks at speeds of 11Mbits/sec, to collect email, surf the web or even to hotsync.
Being able to browse the web wirelessly on such a small device is an equally impressive trick. You don't even have to connect to a network: because the SWE is 802.11b compliant, you can also use it in peer-to-peer 'ad hoc' mode and connect to other WiFi-enabled devices.
We used it in conjunction with a Visor Edge PDA. Fitting the SWE is simple: you remove the SpringPort cover, fit an adaptor sleeve on to the back of the PDA, then slide the SWE in to that adaptor.
As soon as you do, the new hardware is identified and the network settings screen is displayed, allowing you to configure the SWE.
This is reasonably simple, but wireless networking has yet to settle on a standard nomenclature for several settings, which causes confusion when getting WiFi kit from different vendors talking to each other.
For example, on the encryption front, the SWE supports 40 and 128bit pass phrase encryption but some other WiFi kit offers 64bit.
The black plastic module is relatively thin, smaller in some respects than many other wireless modules, but still a little bulky, easily doubling the weight of the PDA. It projects above the top edge of the PDA, but the added bulk fits quite well in to the palm so it's not awkward to hold.
Two LEDs indicate network activity and battery state - the SWE has its own internal rechargeable battery that's refreshed when you drop the Handspring in to its docking cradle.
One neat feature is the module's software (web browser Blazer and email client MultiMail), which reside on the SWE itself so there's no need to hotsync to get started, nor do they impinge on the PDA's main memory.
Contact
Xircom: 01256 332 552 www.xircom.com
See also:
A hi-tech folly that turns almost any pocket-sized PC into an expensive scribble pad. 20 Nov 2001
All Palm PDAs
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