As many of you will know I have an O2 Xda II - lousy Bluetooth and no WiFi - but it is adequate for me.  The poor Bluetooth implementation bugs me a little but the lack of WiFi has never been of concern since I have no WiFi at home - haven’t had the need.  However, I intend to buy a laptop sometime soon, so when I was offered the chance to try a pocketGEAR SDIO WLAN (802.11b) card in my pda it seemed like the ideal opportunity to get an Access Point and try this WiFi fad out.  So, armed with my new SDIO card and furnished with a new D-Link DWL-2100AP access point (at a very reasonable price courtesy of Mr. Gadget), I ventured boldly out into the world of wireless communications.

Specifications of pocketGEAR WiFi Card (SDW-820):
Interface: SDIO Version 1.0 (Supports 1.1 or later version)
Operating Voltage: PA: 3.0 ~ 3.6V, TRX: 2.7V
Radio Type: DSSS system
Frequency: Fully integrated, 2.4GHz band direct conversion transceiver
Operating Range: Outside 400m/Inside 100m
Type of Modulation: 5.5Mbps, 11Mbps, 2Mbps, 1Mbps

Power Consumption the pocketGEAR WiFi SD Card:
Operating Voltage: PA: 3.0 ~ 3.6V, TRX: 2.7V
Average Operation: 185mA (While surfing Web)
Receive Mode: 60mA
Transmit Mode: 116mA for 15dBm Pout
Sleep Mode: 15mA

OS Support: Pocket PC 2003 (Windows CE 4.X) and Linux
Device Requirements: PDA or SmartPhone which has an SDIO enabled slot.
Dimensions: 38.5mm x 24mm x 2.1mm
Weight: Approx. 3.5g
Approval: FCC, CTick, CE, Telec, DGT, IEEE802.11b/Wi-Fi compliance.

The pocketGEAR SDIO WLAN card comes in a simple blister pack, the card safely nestled in a typical little SD case and a CD supplied containing the necessary device drivers.  Installation of the drivers is just a case of running the installer on the PC and letting it install to the device via ActiveSync.  Once the drivers are installed it is relatively simple task of inserting the card in the SD slot, configuring the network options and away you go.

Probably one of the most obvious features of this card is its size, at just 6mm longer than a standard SD card it is very inconspicuous when inserted into the device.  When operating and communicating, a faint green LED is just visible near the top left of the card (also visible from the back).  Included with the drivers is a small application called wlan.exe which runs in the task bar and shows the signed strength as a small bar graph icon.  Tapping the icon displays a menu containing options to enable or disable the WiFi or show move detailed connection information.

Ok, I know I said it was simple to configure when it isn’t always, but that is more a fault of the O/S and the access point than the card.  If you are willing to permit the general public to access everything via your wireless connection, you can leave it unsecured and it is very easy get connected.  If you want to create a secure connection, things become a little fiddley because this depends as much on the access point software as the card (this is outside the scope of this review - I have written a separate tech. note on the configuration process for those needing help).  I must also point out the Clem from pocketGEAR was good enough to contribute to the forums and provided me with much of the technical information I used to configure my own device and write the tech. note - so kudos goes to Clem and pocketGEAR for excellent technical support.

Once connected, the card works very well, even though my access point is not ideally located being near the floor at the back of the house.  I can happily wander round our entire block and out onto the far side of the road (about 50m, through four walls) and still get a 50%+ signal quality.  This is more than adequate to talk to my family in the UK over Skype, even though I am using WEP encryption which reduces network speed. 

I am very pleased with my first foray into WiFi, even though I think the software in the D-Link access point sucks!  Until now I hadn’t considered just how useful it is to be able to access the internet from anywhere in the house (or garden!) .  Being able to read the news, check the weather or TV guide, check my e-mail, use Skype or even moderate the MTekk forums without having to go to the study and power up the PC, very convenient.

Without doubt the size of the card is a definite plus.  The longer cards seem a bit of a liability and are probably easily damaged/snapped, whereas this card is short enough to actually fit safely inside my piel frama case even when in the SD slot.  Ok, so I say safely, in truth I wouldn’t want to put it to the test too often but it isn’t anywhere near as vulnerable as the others.  Actually I suspect that in some of the clear rigid cases, the case thickness might be enough to fully protect the card - even better.  Nonetheless I would like to see a simple rubber collar type device, perhaps like a mini toblerone with a slot in it, which could be slipped over the exposed part of the card to protect it more from casual impact.

The SDIO WiFi card is a great idea and the smaller pocketGEAR SDIO WLAN card is a great idea made even better. Sure, it might only support 802.11b and WEP security but who cares?  Who is really going to be trying to hack your pda while you browse the net? If you’re really that worried about it, install a firewall on it such as the one from Airscanner.  I’m having fun with my new found wireless freedom.  I’ve even got myself a copy of a network sniffer (called HitchHiker) so that I can see just how many unsecured networks there are around (it’s frightening!).  Having had a taste of wireless freedom, you can take it as read that my laptop, when I get it, will definitely have WiFi.

I give the pocketGEAR SDIO card a well connected 9.8/10