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Published: December 1999

Wireless Internet in California

A new users thoughts...

There is something totally liberating about handling email without a wire - it truly changes the paradigm. It is not just the lack of the wire - it is the fact that checking email requires no special effort. I routinely carry my PDA and mobile phone - and that is all I need to read my email. No wires, no desktop workstation, no phone jack, no power cord. A seat (or space on the floor) is pretty much it.

Having reached that state, I thought it might be useful to review how I did it. The solution I have chosen has only recently been made available in California (somewhat ironic in the home of Silicon Valley!) and so this article includes a 'how-to' if you want to follow suit.

Other Options

First of all, a quick review of the other options:

• Palm Wireless Modems/The Palm VII: This is a nice, portable solution with only two problems for me - a tiny screen and no keyboard. Email (I own a Palm V and tried it) is a real drag on such a system. Clearly a good solution, though - if you can live with the screen/lack of keyboard. Of course to include voice capabilities I have to carry two wireless transmitters (one in the phone, one for the Palm). A keyboard (such as the GoType) can be added if you can carry another box.
• Sprint PCS 'Wireless web'. Unfortunately none of the phones that Sprint makes available has an infra-red modem, so you still need a cable for each computer you need to connect to. Of course if you have a non-RS232 9-pin din plug for your serial port you need the adapters as well. Close, but not natural - I always have a mobile phone and PDA, but remembering to carry cables? I was also shocked to observe that the Sprint website wants $200 for what they claim is just a cable!
• Metricom Ricochet: This wireless service is data only, and works (currently) in only a few places - the San Francisco Bay area being one. So whilst the pricing is good (fixed fee unlimited data) I need to carry three boxes and a cable: the computer, the Metricom modem, a data cable, and a mobile phone.
• Various PC-Card wireless modems: A great solution, if your chosen computer has enough space for an internal PC-Card slot (and the batteries to power it). You also need your mobile phone, so I count two boxes, and a short battery life. Close, but I have now found a better option.

My Configuration

Here in California one of the local digital phone providers is Pacific Bell, and they have finally started to offer a 'new' (don't laugh at the back there - we know its been available in Europe for a while) Ericsson phone - the I888. Whilst this phone has many neat features, including roaming in Europe, the one that caught my eye was a proper infrared based modem. That and a PDA should get me on the net anywhere...

So what tools do I actually use for this feat? Only two items, so it is a real short list:

Psion Series 5mx Palmtop: ($499)
	An excellent PDA, with a built-in email program oriented to mobile use. I also use the office package (Word processor, spreadsheet) and database a lot. The only surprise to you may be the OS - EPOC is not a Microsoft product, and is owned by a company (Symbian) that is in turn owned by the major mobile phone manufacturers (Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola). The 5mx worked with the phone right out of the box (OK, I tweaked one setting...), and is generally a very high quality product.
Ericsson I888 World Phone: ($249)
	This is a nice digital PCS handset, about the same size as others on the US market and with a default battery that gives several days of standby, and 2-4 hours of talk time. About the only feature it doesn't have is analog roaming compatibility - but then Pacific Bell doesn't offer that service anyway.

After placing these two items on the desk with their IRDA eyes in sight of each other, I opened the Psion's web browser and entered a URL. It prompted me with the details of my current ISP (IBM.net, but any phone based ISP will work), I changed the location (to 'Mobile') and modem (to 'Infrared Modem') and it almost connected. Visiting the settings for 'Infrared modem', I unchecked the 'Carrier Detect (DCD)' option (I had to do this for my land line modem also), and then tried again. No fuss, no messing, I opened http://my.yahoo.com/, checked the status of my stocks, my news headlines and yahoo email. Yahoo!, indeed :-)

Since web-email means connect time even when you are reading, I next fired up the Psion email program, and connected to my ISP's POP3 servers (I have several). Easy as that, I was reading and replying to my mail.

Now I can sit pretty much anywhere (the parking lot of a customer in Seattle, the show floor at Comdex, Starbucks...) and get email and web browsing. There are other options too - this is a full internet connection, so there are FTP, Telnet, ICQ and other programs available.

One final item worth mentioning is SMS messaging. This feature of GSM-based PCS phones enables short text messages, like two-way text pagers. The Series 5mx has a built-in program that lets you type and read these messages on the larger keyboard and screen that the 5mx has compared to the I888. Pacific Bell also offer a gateway between their SMS network and internet email, providing a cheaper, quicker option for brief communications. SG Software produce an excellent package called PhoneManPro that adds several features over the built-in SMS software, and also lets you link the PDA's address book with the phone memory. Very useful, and worth the registration fee!

Referenced Items

Basics

Psion Series 5mx, Ericsson I888 - Pacific Bell Wireless Service, IBM.net (Now ATT Business).

EPOC Internet Software

nFTP, RMRFTP, JTelnet, Hermes, nICQ, PhoneManPro.

Vendors

Psion, SG Software, Symbian, Microsoft, Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, Palm, Metricom, Sprint, Starbucks (!).