Mobile Computing: Review of Wireless Service for PDAs

Feature: EarthLink's Wireless Service for PDAs

When I tell people how much I love being able to check e-mail at the beach, they assume I'm a classic Type A personality incapable of "being in the moment." They've got it all wrong. The truth is, when I have work to do and it's a beautiful day, why not work at the beach? It was in that spirit that I recently tested EarthLink's wireless Internet service, checking my EarthLink e-mail account and surfing the Web in San Francisco-area parks, cafes, and beaches using a Palm M515 equipped with a wireless modem (the service is available for Palm OS and Pocket PC devices).

EarthLink Wireless was the OmniSky Network before EarthLink acquired that company's subscriber base and infrastructure in December 2001. I found EarthLink Wireless easy to use, and it offers fairly efficient access to e-mail and optimized Web content. But the service is a bit pricey ($40 to $60 a month, depending upon the PDA) and reception can be spotty.

Read on for the details of my experiment.

Configuring and Surfing

The steps to install the software, set up an account, and configure my handheld were straightforward. Once I was done, I slipped my Palm device into the Novatel Minstrel wireless modem. The Minstrel is longer than the PDA and about as thick, with a fixed antenna, three status lights, and an On button.

When the Palm is docked into the modem, pushing the On button launches the EarthLink Wireless Start screen. From there, you can check or compose e-mail messages and surf Web sites that have been optimized to run on the service (for example, The New York Times, CNN, and EBay). For both uses, performance was good--messages showed up in my in-box fairly quickly and the optimized Web content moved along at a reasonable clip. You can load nonoptimized Web sites, too, but as on any handheld device, the process is painfully slow.

From the Start screen, you can also search for people in a directory or get entertainment listings for the cities of your choice. The Start screen is nicely organized, and you can customize it with links to the sites you visit most.

The Novatel modem uses its own battery, which lasts for about 4 to 6 hours, depending upon use and the PDA. After an initial charge, the battery recharges quickly.

E-Mail Service

The EarthLink e-mail client is easy to use, with icons for Send & Get, Compose, Delete, and Find. You can check up to ten e-mail accounts, but you can't synchronize your handheld and main computer's Sent folders (if you want a record of e-mails sent from your PDA, for instance). File attachments aren't supported; for that you'd need a program such as DataViz's new Inbox To Go (see "Handhelds" in this issue).

Service Availability

Of the five places in and around San Francisco where I tested EarthLink Wireless, I was able to connect consistently at two locations, inconsistently at one, and not at all in the other two. EarthLink Wireless is a Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD)-based service, and its antennae share space on cell towers. As a result, service can be strong in some supported areas and spotty in others, just like your average cell phone reception, according to the company.

Currently, EarthLink Wireless is available in 167 U.S. metro areas. By comparison, you can tap into the Palm.Net network for Palm wireless models in 260 metro areas around the country.

A curious footnote: EarthLink Wireless is not available in metro Atlanta, where EarthLink is headquartered. "I can assure you, we're working on this one," says an EarthLink spokesperson. EarthLink Wireless isn't available in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and many Midwestern states, either. The company "is always looking" to expand the service, the spokesperson said, but would give no details.

Devices Supported and Service Fees

For Palm OS devices, EarthLink Wireless and the Novatel modem are currently available for the Palm M500 series and the Palm Vx as well as Handspring's Visor Platinum, Prism, Edge, Neo, and Pro models.

For Pocket PC users, service and Novatel modems are available for the Compaq IPaq H3600, H3700, and H3800 series and Hewlett-Packard's Jornada 520, 540, and 560 devices.

E-mail and Web surfing is also available for BlackBerry handhelds, and Motorola T900 users can sign up for e-mail service.

Modem prices and monthly service fees vary depending upon the device and service plan. Currently, the Novatel modem costs anywhere from $50 for a Palm Vx up to $300 for an IPaq. Service is $40 per month for Palm OS devices, $50 monthly for the Jornada, and $60 monthly for an IPaq. The Pocket PC service plans are more expensive because Pocket PC applications are more akin to true desktop apps than their Palm counterparts and they download larger amounts of data as a result, a spokesperson explained.

For our earlier coverage of EarthLink Wireless on the Pocket PC platform, read "Pocket PC Gets EarthLink Services."