Getting Connected: Pocket PC

Insert the included CD into your PC's CDROM drive and install the Pocket PC software. It will be ActiveSynced to your Pocket PC and you'll be ready to configure your connection settings for voice, data, SMS and more. Be sure to put your SIM in the CF card's tray before inserting the Enfora GSM/GPRS card into your Pocket PC. Then run Pocket Phone Tools from the Programs group to start. The software will walk you through the setup process. It will first attempt to read your SIM and automatically detect your carrier and the appropriate settings for that carrier. Throughout the setup process, you'll see the settings the software has chosen, and you can change them if needed. The process is very user friendly and painless. In many instances you need not even know the correct settings for your carrier as the software has a large database of settings for the major carriers.

In addition to configuring voice services and SMS, including setting the voicemail number and SMS call center number automatically for T-Mobile, Phone Tools knew the right settings to use for GPRS and filled them in for us. It then created a new connection under Settings-> Connections in the Windows Mobile built-in Connection Manager under a new group called pocket Phone Tools.

The app walks you through additional settings for SMS (validity period, message type, transfer messages to Pocket PC from SIM option), Dialer settings (on when app is loaded checkbox, and you can set the ring sound), My Text (10 canned text entries which you can edit), Advanced Settings (log events, re-initialize modem at each connection) and Security (set the SIM's PIN code so only those who know your SIM code can use it). You can revisit these setup items at any time should you need to modify them.

Once you've set up your connection settings, you'll be greeted by the main Phone Tools screen. When first launching the application there will be a few second delay as the program checks your SIM card to ensure that nothing has changed (i.e.: you're using a different SIM card). The app won't do that check again unless you exit the program (not just minimize using the X at upper right to close the app) and re-launch it.

Most of the screen is used for SMS: the top row of icons open up your received and sent SMS mailboxes and your SIM's phonebook. Sent or received SMS messages are listed below, with a pane showing the body of the message that's currently highlighted. The bottom row of icons, which we've labeled in the screen shot on the right, allow you to send an SMS, receive an SMS, open the phone dialer screen and connect via GPRS to the web. You'll see a signal strength meter in the top menu bar when Phone Tools is running (even when minimized), just as you would on a Pocket PC Phone Edition model.

Surfing the Web using GPRS and the Pocket PC

Once you've got your connection set up, you can open a GPRS connection by tapping on the globe symbol at the bottom of the Phone Tools screen or by using the Windows Mobile Connection Manager icon on the top taskbar. BVRP's software will take over and establish the connection and you'll be ready to surf the web, download email, IM and more. The software made a successful connection the first time about 90% of the time. When it failed the first time, it was able to establish a connection the second time. Here in California, T-Mobile and Cingular share the same towers and have been doing some tower migration recently, which understandably sometimes confused the card into thinking we were roaming or had changed carriers when we were not.

Connection speeds over GPRS averaged 35kbit/sec with T-Mobile, a slow GPRS carrier in the US. We tested using the DSL Reports mobile speed test at www.dslreports.com/mspeed with their 50 and 100k tests. 35kbit/sec is average for T-Mobile. Using Cingular we got 46kbit/sec.

Using the Pocket PC as a Phone

Like most cellular cards, the Enfora has a standard 2.5mm headset jack which you'll use for voice conversations. The Pocket PC's built-in speaker and mic are not used in phone mode and phone audio is not routed through the Pocket PC's audio circuitry, so you'll have to use a headset plugged directly into the CF card.

You'll use the dialer screen to make and receive voice calls. The user interface is quite good, and you'll see a window that tells you the current carrier's name, shows phone status and mimics a cell phone LCD screen, displaying numbers as you enter them in the dialer and showing incoming phone numbers. The dialer has large finger-friendly buttons for the on-screen number pad, call send and end buttons, as well as buttons to open Contacts for dialing, speed dial (15 numbers) and call log. There's also a volume control slider and buttons to mute incoming and/or outgoing voice. The dialer screen displays signal strength and battery level at all times.

Voice quality was excellent! Generally these cards are data-centric with voice support added as a secondary feature. But the Phone Tools dialer, contacts integration and large feature set combine with excellent voice quality to make this a viable phone solution if you don't mind using a headset for all calls.