Re: GSM card for _desktop_ PC

["Patrick Lidstone" <patrick@xxxxxxx>]

Mark,
There is a product by Siemens called the Siemens M3 which is about
the size of a fag packet. It is a complete data capable GSM phone
with serial port and powered from a wallwart. Sending and receiving
SMS with this device is trivial. I think you would find this far more
robust than a PCMCIA based version. (A directly competitive product
is also available from a small german manufacturer called "Fal[ck]
on" - no doubt a web search would turn it up.)
I have a Nokia PC card phone (ie. PC card with integral phone, not a
PC data card which connects to a phone) and it works very well --
with the caveat that for some reason they decided to use a
proprietary hardware interface. You therefore need Nokia's own
drivers which aren't available for much other than Win95 (and a flaky
linux equivalent).
There is a much bulkier product available from Nokia which has much
the same functionality as the Siemens, but also includes a BT
analogue phone interface. It's intended for use in temporary
buildings I think, and is called something like PeriphiPhone.
The prices on these products aren't horrendous - between 200-300 UKP
without a contract, IIRC.
If you go the PCMCIA route, and you find a card which properly
emulates a modem, there are many serial-PCMCIA converters available
to make the link. Try teleadapt as a starting point.
There are also a number of mobiles available with integral RS232.
These are getting rarer - the Motorola Timeport is one currently
available. An old favorite, if you can find surplus stock is also the
Ericsson GS18. Bear in mind you will be tied to which ever you
choose - almost all implement the SMS command set with subtle
variations which make interoperability a nightmare.
If you need further info, feel free to contact me off list.
Patrick.


-------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~>
Restaurants, Movies, Weather, Traffic & More!
Call 1-800-555-TELL.  For more info visit:
http://click.egroups.com/1/9533/9/_/2065/_/971336894/
---------------------------------------------------------------------_->