Rejoice, those of you who own older Windows CE PDAs or HP Jornada models with type I CF slots. The Socket CF card works with Windows CE devices that have type I or type II CF slots, and it supports Windows CE 2.11 (HPC/HPC Pro), Handheld PC 2000, Pocket PC, Pocket PC 2002 and Pocket PC 2003 operating systems. Also iPAQ 2215 users will be happy to know that this card supports the new Pocket PC 2003 OS. Do not install the drivers on the CD if you have a 2215. Instead download the drivers from Socket's web site.

Socket Communications 802.11.b network CF card

If you've got a WinCE or Pocket PC device with a tired battery, or one that has just plain old poor battery life, this card will also be your friend. Socket calls this "Low Power" for a good reason, it consumes about 1/2 as much power than any other wireless network card we're aware of. In sleep mode it uses less than 20 mA of power in sleep mode (when no data is being transfered). When awake, it uses significantly less power than the D-Link DCF-650 also reviewed here: 170 to 280 mA. vs. 280mA to 380 mA for the D-Link.

Setup is easy and user-friendly. Install the driver on your Pocket PC, do a soft reset and whenever you insert the card, the Socket networking icon will appear on the lower right corner of your taskbar. Press the icon to launch the configuration program which allow you to select infrastructure vs. peer networking, 40 (sometimes referred to as 64 bit) bit or 128 bit encryption, DHCP vs. static IPs and DNS and so on. You can also save multiple configurations and use a pop-up menu to switch between them, which is handy if your work and home configurations are different.

It's nice that all configuration settings are available in one place. In comparison, with the the D-Link card you'll have to go the the Connections tab under your Pocket PC settings menu, and setup the IP and DNS settings using the built-in Pocket PC "Network Adapters" icon. Socket also offers an advanced selection when you press their icon in the taskbar which allows you to test your network signal strength. Speaking of signal strength, I was worried that the small antenna (the plastic prominence at the top of the card) would affect signal strength, but I was able to get a usable signal up to 75 feet away from my base station.

All in all, a great, easy to use WiFi 802.11b wireless network card. It costs considerably more than the D-Link, but if your Pocket PC or WinCE device only supports type I cards, this will be the card for you. Note: if you have a Casio E-200, which is oddly picky about CF communications cards, you'll probably have some trouble using the Socket Card. For the Jornada and iPAQ, it's stellar.

Power Consumption:
Sleep: 20 mA
Transmission:170-280mA

List price $149

Socket Communications

Shopping: Where to Buy

Want to learn more about WiFi? Read our Primer.

Back to MobileTechReview.com Home

Questions? Comments? Post them in our Discussion Forum!