Mobile Pro 750c Wireless Internet Access

[blackngold]

********UPDATE IN INFORMATION*******
Just got off the phone with SIERRA tech support who makes the AC 750 for T MOBILE. He said that it would not work with CE 2.0, and it has only been tested on the MOBILE PRO 790, which I believe runs CE 3.0. Oh well, I'm more apt to take the word of the maker of the card than the company just trying to sell it. So I guess the alternative is the 2.0 to 3.0 upgrade and nothing else. So if I want to go the wireless route, it's gonna cost me 130 for the upgrade, and 300 for the card. Now I'm into the machine for 580 bucks, at this point it doesnt quite seem worth it. Oh well, I guess wireless internet access will have to wait. CE 3.0 PRO is on ebay for 130.00. Seems like a reasonable price, seeings how I can't seem to find it anywhere else. Does anyone know of anyone that might have 2.11 or 3.0 upgrade?

Well, after doing some more research I found out that the T MOBILE AC 750 AIR CARD will work with CE 2.0. This is according to a tech support rep who works for T MOBILE. Works out good I guess, the T MOBILE pocket phone PDA combo actually has CE 3.0 for an OS. This link states that the Sierra 300 works with CE 2.0. That card would appear to be the same as the T MOBILE AC750. Check this link out : http://www.cewindows.net/commlink/aircard.htm

If anyone knows otherwise about this air card not working with CE 2.0 let me know. I hate to spend $150 more to upgrade to CE 2.11 OR 3.0PRO unless I really have to. Thanks ..

[Pilot]

If the card will only run on CE 3.0 (HPC2000), then the only MobilePro it will run on is the MP790, because no other MobilePro can run CE 3.0 (HPC2000). If it can run on CE "Pro" (CE 2.11), then you can get the ROM upgrade for the MP750c (on eBay, etc.) and it should work fine.

Honestly, I've encountered very few programs, including hardware specific ones, that will ONLY work on CE 2.11 ("Pro"). Most programs/hardware will work with CE 2.0 or greater. Now, there definitely are plenty of applications and hardware that will only work with the PocketPC, HPC2000, etc., but you cannot upgrade the MP750c to any of those OS's anyway, so it's moot.

There are several "Cellular Ready" 56k modems that will work in the MP750c PCMCIA card slot. I believe USR/3COM makes one. Then all you have to do is hope that they sell a cable that connects to your existing cell phone and you're set. Overall, unless you get a single package thing (HPC/phone combo), I think you'll be disappointed with wireless internet. Also FYI, they still make 9600 baud accoustic couplers that will work with any modem (even the onboard one in the MP750c) that would allow you to connect to the internet via a cell phone, pay phone, etc., download/upload some email, do very minimal surfing. You can always subscribe to a free online mail service that will deliver sports scores to you email address of choice... Just a thought.

[blackngold]

IS NOT THE UPGRADE HERE FOR A MOBIL PRO 750 TO UPGRADE THE OS FROM CE 2.0 TO CE 3.0 PRO
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1391776712&ssPageName=ADME:B:BN:USWONT HIS UPGRADE ALLOW ME TO RUN CE 3.0 ON A MOBIL PRO 750?
IF NOT IM KIND OF CONFUSED ON WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT AS FAR AS HOOKING A CELL PHONE AND MODEM UP TO THE MOBIL PRO 750. COULD YOU PLEASE BE MORE SPECIFIC. IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE SAYING I COULD GET A MOBILE PHONE TO WORK IN CONJUNCTION WITH A CF OR A PCII CARD SLOT. THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT, IM JUST KIND OF CONFUSED HERE. YOU ARE PROBABLY RIGHT THOUGH. ILL SPEND 300 ON A T MOBIL CARD, 100-150 ON A CE 2.0 TO 3.0 UPGRADE, 20 PER MONTH ON A BASIC CELLULAR INTERNET PLAN AND BE UNHAPPY WITH SPEEDS, SERVICE, ETC... BUT I' JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET EMAILS AND SOME MINOR UPDATES ON THE MOBIL PRO 750. LET ME KNOW IF YOU THINK SOMETHING ELSE WILL WORK FOR ME THAT I MIGHT BE HAPPY WITH.
THANKS PILOT
*********EDIT HERE*******
OK IM WONDERING IF THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT....WILL THIS PCII CARD WORK IN THE MOBIL PRO 750 AND ALLOW HOOKING UP WITH A CELL PHONE TO SURF WIRELESS?
****ANOTHER EDIT HERE*******
IS THIS WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT? I DONT CURRENTLY HAVE A CELLULAR PHONE CONTRACT OR PHONE. WILL THE MANUFACTURER OF THE PC CARD RECOMMEND WHICH PHONE/SERVICE I SHOULD GET TO MAXIMIZE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CARD? CHECK THIS LINK OUT AND TELL ME IF IM ON THE RIGHT TRACK THX http://www.toshiba-europe.com/computers/sna/tnt/visions97/spec8.htm

[Pilot]

Yes, that is the correct upgrade ROM for the MobilePro 750c. The thing to make sure of is the part number: MC-UR1E. Various eBay sellers will call incorrectly call it "CE 3.0" and some will correctly "CE 2.11" or the "Pro Upgrade". If you just make sure of the part number, you'll do fine. It's Microsoft that made it so darn confusing -- the "Pro" applications on the ROM (Word, Excel, etc.) are listed as "version 3.0" but the CE operating system is actually CE 2.11. Why they didn't just make everything be version 2.11, I don't know, but it sure does cause problems for people who think they're getting CE 3.0 (HPC2000 version that ONLY comes on the MP790 and no other MobilePro). I imagine that would be very disappointing.

The link you provided is what I'm talking about for connecting just about any cell phone/service to your MP750c via a cellular ready PCMCIA modem. You can also get CF card interfaces that connect a cell phone the same way, but they are far more rare than PCMCIA. Not all of them will work with CE, as they are intended for use with a fullsized notebook instead, but some do work. The thing to recognize though is that unlike Europe, I don't think we have the same wireless technology over here, so your speeds are going to be much less (more like 9600 baud). This is fine for checking/sending email and very minimal browsing (with very few pictures), but it works in a pinch. Anyway, here's a good resource for cellular connectivity on CE (as well as CE in general):

http://cewindows.net/peripherals/cellular.htm

I still think that if wireless is the way you want to go, you're better off buying one of these newer cell phones that have the web browser/email/and even QWERTY keyboard built-in to the phone. You'll get much better performance and a lot less wires, drivers, headaches, etc.

[blackngold]

If you can tell me of a cell phone/web browser/qwerty combo that costs under $700 let me know. There are options, like some nokia that folds out with a mini qwerty, or a handspring, etc... these are expensive, and the keyboards seem very small. I think I will look further into the 3com card to see what phones that will connect to. GSM and CDMA(VERIZON), might be the way to go. Again I appreciate your help.

[Richie Rich]

You know, even if you could get wireless to work, I wonder if it would really be worth the cost.

I mean I have an 780 and an socket LPE 10BT card, and it works nice, but even hardwired, it takes a while to refresh the screen when loading pages...as long as 15 seconds or more on some. Wireless would be even slower than hardwired.

I'm not sure whatyour 750 is running at, but I would be willing to bet that even with optimal software, it takes an excruciating long time to bounch along the web.

When I upgrade someday, it won't be to buy a wireless nic, I will instead put the money towards a machine that can handle data at a faster rate....and if it has built in wireless...so be it.

Richie Rich (I wish)

[blackngold]

Thanks for replying Rich. I'm just feeling things out right now, but I think you and Pilot are both steering me in the right direction. I tend to agree with both of you. Even by chance if I could get a wireless card to work, it wouldn't be worth the cost. I'd end up spending 200-300 on a card and 20-40 mth for service, and then I'd probably be disguisted with throughput. I guess I'm trying to do more with the 750 than its capable of. I'm just wondering why they put a PC type II slot in it. It makes very little sense I guess. For now I guess I'll use my 750 for pocket word, excel, and maybe some other things games etc... and use the built in 33.6 if I'm in a pinch somewhere. I'm sure its painfully slow anyway. Just thought it might be cool to soup this little gadget up. I think I'll go with it for a while, and wait for new generation products that work efficiently. I just got sick of looking at PDA'S for 300-600 bucks that seemed to offer nothing more than a mobil pro machine, on top of it all you still need to buy a keyboard for 100 bucks for any PDA out there. Thanks again for the post. oH do you know where I can get a good case for my mobil pro?

[blackngold]

Hey pilot maybe Ill just get a 20 dollar coupler for when im in a pinch and need to dial up and check emails, send emails, minimal surfing etc... its seems like the only cost logical thing to do thanks.

[Richie Rich]

PCMCIA isn't bad really, I mean you could put a 56K modem in it and use it pretty cheaply these days. I see them on EBay a lot for around $10. Although I don't know if I would want to eat up a lot of battery power for only a minimal gain in speed..33.6K isn't all that bad for these things.

As far as a case goes, that one is simple. I bought a really nice case for my 770 a while back. But it wasn't made for it. What I did is bought a storage case for CDs that stored two of them per page.... I bought it at Wal-Mart, cost like $12.00. I then cut the plastic cd sleeves out, and took some soft foam I had and cut it to size, and then using some silicone caulking adhesive I had lying around, glued in the foam on both sides of the cd case.

When I was through, I had a really nice looking and strong zippered case for my 770....and it was really cheap. It looked just like the NEC case I have for my 780...every bit as good if not better.

[Pilot]

When I travel (either for fun or business), I only bring my MP750c, and the built-in modem did just fine for dial-up. It works without complaint for email, and browsing the net isn't any different using the 33.6 modem or a PCMCIA 56k modem. Richie is very much right in that the onboard modem doesn't suck up anywhere near the power of a PCMCIA 56k modem, there's no noticeable difference in browsing speed, and it's less clunky to use the onboard modem. I think the MP750c might be a little faster with Pocket IE than than the MP770/780, because it only displays 256 colors. My MP700 was VERY fast browsing -- it only had a greyscale display (which was WONDERFUL on battery life...only had to use regular AA batteries and it would last 10x the life of the MP750c's rechargeable!). The only problem with the MP700 was that you couldn't upgrade it to CE 2.11 (yes, I did try swapping out the chip when I ordered it for my MP750c, but it wouldn't work).

In other words, I think you made a wise purchase, and for minimal investment, you have a very capable internet machine in the MP750c.

As for the accoustic coupler, you can get folding ones for like $20 that adjust to work on just about any phone and will guarantee a 9600 baud connection. There are still plenty of hotels, airports, etc., that do not have data ports, and even those that do are frequently at an extra charge above and beyond the phone charge. The accoustic coupler eliminates that charge entirely, and allows you to dial-in for quick email send/receive from any phone.

For a case, I was using the CD case solution for a while, but found that it didn't hold everything I wanted to bring with me. So when looking at CD cases with extra pockets on the outside, I noticed a case/bag at Target made by Artix. It appears to be made more for a day backpack trip, but it works PERFECTLY for the MobilePro and all accessories, without being much bigger than a CD case. It has a padded main pocket that is the perfect dimensions of a MP750c (I think it's designed for binoculars), and there is another unpadded large flap pocket that has netted sub-pockets for holding PCMCIA/CF cards, the power supply, etc. There are also several other zipper pockets for other stuff. It has a very adjustable shoulder strap, a small handle type strap, and waist/belt type strap that folds away into a hidden pocket on the back. It's a great bag. Unfortunately, although I can still find them from time to time at Target, Artix doesn't appear to have a website or anything for looking at them (or seeing what else they offer that might be better). I think I paid $19 for the bag.

[blackngold]

THANKS GUYS...MY MOBIL PRO WILL BE HERE MONDAY..ILL LET YOU BOTH KNOW HOW IT WORKS OUT FOR ME. THANKS AGAIN