FIGURE F


Here's the Apple Mac OS Airport Configuration Panel. Roll over picture for a larger image.

By including a "Select from List" option, I wouldn't have to find the network name and key it in. I could just pick it from a list.

Thoughtfully, Xircom ships the PWE1130 with the battery half-charged, so you can set up the module before you charge it. The unit doesn't come with a charger, but instead uses the AC adapter that comes with the Palm m500 series handhelds and replacement cradles. The adapter plugs into the side of the unit, and it charges in a couple of hours. If you leave the Palm handheld in the adapter while it's charging, it will charge the handheld as well.

Software
The PWE1130 doesn't include any software outside of the drivers it uses when operating. This isn't the travesty it sounds, however, because the Palm m500 and Palm m505 handhelds come with a CD chock full of Internet software, including MultiMail SE (at http://www.palm.com/software/multimail/) and AvantGo (at https://avantgo.com), along with the Palm Mobile Internet Kit (at http://www.palm.com/software/mik/). Of course, if you use a PC running Microsoft Windows, you can perform a HotSync operation wirelessly, too.

I tried the PWE1130 with both AvantGo and MultiMail SE, and it worked perfectly. As I expected, it also worked flawlessly with other third-party TCP/IP applications, including ICQ (at http://web.icq.com), EudoraWeb (at http://www.eudora.com/internetsuite/eudoraweb.html), and EudoraMail (at http://www.eudoramail.com). In theory, the PWE1130 should work with any application that uses Palm's built-in networking library, and I have no reason to doubt this.

One thing I tried and enjoy quite a bit is using Web Clipping Applications or PQAs (Palm Query Applications) from Palm's Mobile Internet Kit. Originally designed to work with relatively slow wide wireless networks such as the one used by the Palm VII, PQAs are fast when using the PWE1130. Figure G shows one such PQA, APRS/Find, in operation.

FIGURE G

APRS/Find, a Web Clipping Application, runs well via the PWE1130.

In fact, that's one thing we really haven't talked about so far. Wireless LANs are much faster than the wide-area wireless that comes with devices like the Palm VII and wireless WAN (wide area network) modems like those from GoAmerica and OmniSky. Theoretically, 802.11b can transfer at up to 11 megabits per second, although in practice you'll see transfers closer to 2 mbps. By contrast, wireless WAN modems most often connect at about 14.4 kpbs, or about a fourth the speed of a typical 56K modem.

The optimizations most PQAs have apply equally well to wireless networks, and of course a PQA's layout is tuned for the Palm handheld's display. This is an undersold advantage of the PWE1130; vertical developers should consider deploying intranet solutions using the PWE1130 and Web Clipping Applications, rather than using a conventional Web browser for the Palm OS.