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Wireless Net on the Zaurus
An anonymous reader writes "Straight from infosync.no: "Sharp has announced the release of a wireless Internet package for Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 and SL-5000d. Using the Verizon Wireless CDPD network in US, the package includes a Compact Flash CDPD modem from Enfora, the necessary software, and a Verizon Wireless account"."
Is it just me, or does that thing look about the same size as the zaurus itself?
we can rebuild this sig. we have the technology
It's $40/mo for unlimited use, but it's only 19.2. If you're a bandwidth freak, it makes more sense to go with Verizon's 144kbps Express Network - unlimited plans are $100/mo, and they have PCMCIA cards as well as phones.
What's your damage, Heather?
My boss has a Zaurus with an 802.11 card. After that story the other day about Starbuck's 'interferring' with a free 802.11 provider, I discovered that there are a LOT of Starbuck's around Portland that have the T-Mobile service ready to go. Seriously, I've been to 3 different stores that had it and 1 of them was in the mall. It's a sure bet that the bigger mall will have it soon too. (That Starbuck's is remodelling...)
This isnt' worth the $30 a month they want for it, otherwise this is a seriously cool combination with a Zaurus. I could go to the mall and do my shopping. If I'm concerned about an item costing a little too much, I could run down to the Starbuck's (or just close to it...), fire up the Zaurus, and go check out the price at a place like Newegg.com. Even better, I can find out if a competitor is running a sale! Best Buy's site will let ya order the item from the web and pick it up in the store.
As I said, this isn't worth $30 a month to me, but that's a seriously cool alternative to trying to cover the US with a cellular-like WAP cloud.
"Derp de derp."
CDPD was great 5 years ago, but today, GSM/GPRS is spreading out and I wouldn't recommend investing in the older, slower technology. CDPD has a data rate of 19.2kb/s, but with error correction and overhead, the users throughput is more like 10 to 15kb/s. Versus GSM, which operates at 40 to 50kb/s and is found throughout the world.
Goals are deceptive - the unaimed arrow never misses.
CDPD is one of the slowest wireless data technologies still in use. It's only 19.2kbps (max speed, you really only get 9600 and that only if you're lucky and in the middle of a cornfield next to a cell tower) and is overpriced for what you get. GSM/GPRS is a more viable option at 60kbps, or sprint's new 3G "PCS vision" service. (70kbps at the moment, has potetial for 1mbps+)
-- There's only one replacement for displacement.....
The modem has its own battery.
I used one of these as part of the wireless beta. I got a good 2-3 hours out of a charge on the wireless battery and about 4-5 hours of constant use on the Z itself.
I have discovered a truly marvelous sig, unfortunately the sig limit is too small to contain i
CDPD - Cellular Digital Packet Data.
The CDPD system involves sending short, relatively low speed data bursts over a voice channel of standard North American Analog Phone Service (AMPS). This allows a standard AMPS system to carry CDPD with little retrofitting of the cell towers, whereas GPRS requires a whole new system. Given that your average cell site runs about US$1M, that adds up very quickly.
CDPD is a CS/A TDMA system (Collision Sense/Collision Avoidance Time Domain Multiple Access) system - Multiple users transmit on the same frequency at different times, much like Ethernet.
CDPD is in common use for vending machines, electric meters, and other systems that need to report relatively little information.
When it first came out, years ago, I thought "YOU IDIOTS! You are pricing this PER PACKET - it will never sell. Price it flat rate and people will eat it up!" Guess what - now they are starting to look at pricing it flat rate, and it is now becoming attractive!
CDPD operates in the 800MHz US Cellular band. It can use encryption based on RSA.
I had done some work on a CDPD tester in the past.
www.eFax.com are spammers
The Palm setup was a Vx with the Novatel Wireless sled. This, of course, was a bit less bulky than the iPAQ with the PC Card sled, and I liked the retractable antenna. However, unlike the iPAQ where you could charge both batteries simultaneously, you have to charge the Palm and the sled separately. Also it seemed like the Palm combo was just as vulnerable to network holes and spottiness.
I stopped using both accounts because of the inconveniences caused apparantly by the hardware's inability to hold on to a signal. What was gained in convenience by the small form factor was more than washed out by those problems. I would rather wait for a GSM+GPRS-based solution (only because I perceive GPRS to be both faster and less spotty, not because I have empirical data comparing the two).
HTH!
"The cup... the drop... it's a YES!"
Greeting- My comments have been up on the Sharp Wireless Service and the Enfora modem that they sell for the Zaurus for many months at http://zaurus.wynn.com/. I found it so unusable that I dropped the service in favor of using public access 802.11 sites in the NYC area. There are more and more of them!