I’ve been on a connectivity bender lately–I’ve been trying to get
everything in my house to talk to one another. Here’s the scorecard:
| Handheld | Computer | Cable | Software | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone | Thinkpad A20m/Windows XP | USB Sync & Charge Cable XDA | ActiveSync 3.7 | No problems |
| T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone | Virtual PC Mac/Windows 2000 | USB Sync & Charge Cable XDA | ActiveSync 3.4 | No problems |
| Audiovox Maestro (Toshiba e570) Pocket PC 2002 | Thinkpad A20m/Windows XP | USB Sync & Charge Cable Toshiba e570 |
ActiveSync 3.7 | Works some of the time; ActiveSync frequently fails to recognize the pocket pc, so I need to unplug and plug a lot |
| Audiovox Maestro (Toshiba e570) Pocket PC 2002 | Virtual PC Mac/Windows 2000 | USB Sync & Charge Cable Toshiba e570 |
ActiveSync 3.4 | Works some of the time; ActiveSync frequently fails to recognize the pocket pc, so I need to unplug and plug a lot |
| Nokia 3650 | Thinkpad A20m/Windows XP | Built-in IrDA (infrared) | PC Suite for Nokia 3650 | Works intermittently; mRouter will often say the phone is connected, but the PC Suite doesn’t see it; a reboot of Windows usually helps |
| Nokia 3650 | Thinkpad A20m/Windows XP | Belkin Bluetooth PC Card (refurb) |
PC Suite for Nokia 3650 | Works with these instructions; more reliable than IrDA |
| Nokia 3650 | Thinkpad A20m/Windows XP | Belkin Bluetooth PC Card (refurb) |
Dialup Networking | No problems so far |
| Nokia 3650 | 867mhz 12″ PowerBook/Mac OS X 10.2 | Built-in bluetooth | Internet Connect | So-so. GPRS connections occasionally drop or hang. |
| Nokia 3650 | 867mhz 12″ PowerBook/Mac OS X 10.2 | Built-in bluetooth | ISync | Address book only. |
| Nokia 6200 | Thinkpad A20m/Windows XP | Built-in IrDA (infrared) | Nokia PC Suite 5 | So far, so good. |
| Nokia 6200 | Thinkpad A20m/Windows XP | Built-in IrDA (infrared) | Dialup networking | Slightly faster than 3650 on Mac or PC (haven’t tested 6200 on an EDGE network yet, though). |
| Nokia 6200 | 867mhz 12″ PowerBook/Mac OS X 10.2 | MadsonLine IrDA (infrared) adapter | Internet Connect | Just plain awful. I can make the connection OK, but it hangs (no downstream packets) after about 30 seconds. When I try to disconnect, Internet Connect says “disconnecting” and never stops. Unplugging the adapter results in a kernel panic. |
I’ll keep this updated over time, so come back and check it from time to
time. I’ll probably be testing the 6200 with the DKU-5 cable soon.