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Palm Finally Announces SD WiFi Card
Estranged42 writes "After years of waiting, Palm announced today that it will release an SD 802.11b card for its Tungsten T3 and Zire 72 handhelds. This comes after years of anticipation and speculation about this card ever happening. It should be arriving sometime in September for $129. I think I'm still looking forward to getting one. The Register and others are carrying the story."
I bought a Linksys one for my WinCE PDA over two years ago for half that.
What a rip off.
I don't read or respond to AC posts
This is fortunate since there has been a SanDisk SD WiFi card for a while, but only Zire71 compatible.
http://www.engadget.com/entry/5574704268292237/
According to this story at TreoCentral, it will not work with the Treo 600. But since you (and I ;) ) get Internet anywhere there's a cell signal, it shouldn't be too much of a loss. All I can say is I'm glad I have the unlimited data plan. ;)
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Well, hotsyncincing without having to boot a computer when you are trying to get out the door in the morning is a plus.
Also you can use free wireless hotspots to update things like Avantgo when you are traveling.
I bought a Sony Clie for just this reason.
Bzzzzzz...wrong. Methinks you got your As and Bs confused.
The PowerBook (or, more correctly, Apple's AirPort Extreme MiniPCI card) supports 802.11b and 802.11g.
802.11g is backwards compatible with 802.11b (despite what I overheard some idiot salesman say to a customer at Best Buy once). You can use 802.11b cards with 802.11g access points and 802.11g cards with 802.11b access points. I do this al lthe time. Part of the reason this is possible is because 802.11b and 802.11g operate in the 2.4 GHz range. The backwards-compatibility is also built into the 802.11g spec (IIRC).
802.11a, on the other hand, is 54 Mbps (like 802.11g), but operates in the 5 GHz range and is not compatible with 802.11b or 802.11g.
Some manufacturers make combo cards that work with all three protocols. Apple is not one of them.
CyberDave
Probably because the Palm's SD slot doesn't support I/O transfer rates anywhere near that speed. IIRC, it cannot even use 802.11b to it's full potential.
Urge to post... fading... fading... RISING!... fading... fading... gone.
Most "SDIO" interfaces are actually SPI and I believe this is the case for the palm devices. There is no speed up from B to G on SPI. In my company we have done experiments and it is VERY difficult, if not impossible, to even get to the 11mbit/sec that B provides.
Even with true SDIO, you would need to be using the 4bit mode at the maximum clock speed to achieve G data rates and I don't believe any of the handhelds are capable of this. Currently G modems on handhelds are just a marketing ploy.
PalmInfocenter has a good Review posted
You'll definitely need this to HotSync your Zire 71 when the stupid internal sync/charge cable problem starts kicking in as it has on mine.
So why is the card only available for the T3 and Zire 72, and not other models with SD slots? The official answer from palmOne is: Following market and development-cost analysis, palmOne wanted to develop a Wi-Fi card that will be applicable to its Zire 72 and Tungsten T3 handhelds. These solutions require very tight integration between hardware, firmware and custom software, as well as access to propriety technologies for the level of tight integration necessary to give the customer an excellent experience. In other words it sounds like the differences between other models SD slots and other factors such as power draw and battery capacity, made is cost prohibitive to develop it for other handhelds.
hmmm, I'm thinking they are just pushing their newer products.
And yet you can buy it RIGHT NOW for under 70$ as a simple internet search would have revealed.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
Plus you don't have to learn palm's "grafiti" or whatever it's called. Say what you will about WinCE but the handwriting recognition is beyond comparison with Palm's.
Not everything is analogous to cars. Car analogies rarely work.
Actually check out https://www.enfora.com/shop/detail.aspx?ID=36, it uses the USB port instead of the SD. I am thinking about picking up one once it comes back in stock.. A little more expensive but it also comes with a little more.