Convergent GSM/GPRS CF Card

As I inserted the CF card I notice the card fit perfectly inside the slot of the h2215. Wow could this really be happening internet and phone capabilities right on this small rugged h2215? Once inserted I powered up the iPAQ and the unit went through its boot screen. Mind you, at this point did not load one piece of software. I thought let me see what PocketPC 2003 can do for this connection. Heck, from what I am hearing that was the major upgrade for the OS was connectivity. The unit powered up and I noticed a bright orange light turn on and start to blink. I really wasn't sure why it was blinking other than I thought it was trying to find a signal.

Once I went into the connections tab of PocketPC 2003 I selected Add a new modem connection. Once I selected that I couldn't believe my eyes, GPRS Modem was on the list of pull down items! Wow no more G, commands on my iPAQ, finally. I then selected the baud rate of 57,600 and selected the settings tab. Once you select the settings tab goto-general. Uncheck the Wait for dial tone and type in the following Extra dial-string +CGDcont=1,,"internet2.voicestream.com" if you are not using VPN. If you are using VPN dial-string +CGDcont=1,,"internet3.voicestream.com". Thats all. Once I applied my settings I launched Internet Explorer and I was surfing the internet.

As you can see (left) my h2215 was connected and I was ready to surf. My next obstacle was to initiate the phone portion of the card. I don't know about you but the phone portion of my PocketPC Phone has not played much of an important role as a phone. Why? Well anything that has a PDA/Phone integrated is going to drain a battery. So during this review I will consider the phone portion a convenience not a neccessity to me personally. The software that comes with the card is called IA Dialer, as I stated earlier in this review it was not compatible with PocketPC 2003. So I decided to purchase Running Voice GSM by Pocket Presence. Not only does this software handle phone dialing, it does- Dialling (from Dialpad, Outlook contacts, SIM/phone memory) - Messaging (support SMS, long SMS) - Support for EMS rich text (font size, bold, italic, underscore, etc.) - Enhanced message settings (Unicode, validity time, delivery report, etc.) - SMS Outlook integration(send messages from Outlook Contacts) - Support for export of SMS:es to a separate .txt file. - Network configuration (semi-automatic connection wizard for GPRS, GSM connections) - Data download statistics (showing amount of data downloaded during a period of time) - Data speed monitor and graph. - Data speed icon in the Navigation bar just to name a few!

The software (above) has some great features and really adds to the experience with the card. I highly recommend purchasing it (38.00USD). I was able to launch the dialer software and instantly make a phone call! How great was that, finally my iPAQ is a phone and a PDA! I also was able to monitor my internet speed. I really liked the tool built within this software and I was also amazed to see me peak over 60Kbps!!!!! I don't know what or why but my PocketPC Phone NEVER achieved nearly those speeds.

The picture (above) here shows the card peaking at 55.83KBS! I was able to go over to Windows Media and stream some new Motley Crue (not a big fan don't worry). One thing I noticed was that I never was able to buffer an entire 30 seconds and peak over 50+KBS. If you look at the picture you will notice the nice title bar showing you your connection speed and time spent on the internet. If you haven't heard T-Mobile has revised their data plans, now you can receive unlimited internet for only $19.99 per month. What a steal! to be a little hard to pull out.

Overall Convergent Technology really filled in the blanks for those die hard iPAQ owners who want internet and phone capabilities on this extremely small device. The craftmanship and design engineering are hands down unbelievable. I highly recommend this card to any user who is currently using a PocketPC Phone or that user who is debating on purchasing a PocketPC Phone. Thanks to Convergent Technology we now have the answer. I now have my iPAQ with me at all times. Goodbye PocketPCPhone, Hello h2215 iPAQ!

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