Did Xircom hit the mark? Well, yes and no. On one hand, the device is cool: a nicely engineered product that is about as close to plug and play as I've ever seen with a wireless system. On the other hand, the SpringPort Wireless Ethernet Module isn't a high-performance wireless solution. It may be 11 Mbps on the LAN, but the funnel between your applications and the network reduces performance to a 50th of what you'll see on a typical 802.11b wireless notebook system.
First Impressions
The SpringPort arrived after a month of delays, and I spent a couple of weeks putting it through the ringer in our Syracuse University Real-World Labs®. I first plugged the module into my Visor, and I was online and surfing in two minutes. The software drivers, utilities, bundled Blazer Web browser and MultiMail e-mail client are preinstalled. I needed only to configure the Visor to use DHCP and enter the 802.11 ESSID (extended service set ID) on my access point, and I was online communicating with the network via a Cisco Systems Aironet 350 access point installed in the lab.
The SpringPort Wireless Ethernet Module adds a bit of bulk to the Visor, but I like the design. Because current wireless LAN chip sets are power hungry, Xircom chose to build a module with an internal lithium-ion battery, which supplies power to the module without draining the PDA's batteries. For typical usage, occasionally accessing the network throughout the day, the unit's battery life of two to 2.5 hours is more than adequate.
Performance of Blazer 1.1, included in the product, was sluggish by LAN standards, even for Web sites like Yahoo that are optimized for handheld devices. Instead of using the limited PalmOS, Xircom worked with Handspring and solved the OS problem by implementing a PPP server in its wireless NIC driver. Xircom concluded that this approach provides the best performance within the PalmOS design constraints, but I was disappointed by the delay encountered when starting a network application.
Page loads were slow, but running the MultiMail e-mail client against an IMAP mail server was worse. IMAP mail-syncing operations were intolerably slow. Performance using the POP mail protocol was significantly better.
Because our normal benchmark utilities don't support PalmOS, determining performance numbers was difficult. Xircom claims a best-case throughput of about 100 Kbps. That is about 50 times slower than the speed of a typical 802.11b notebook computer, and I'm amazed that Xircom highlights the unit's "high-speed 11-Mbps performance" on its Web site.
One of the most useful functions of this system is its ability to perform syncing operations across the network. We synced 290 KB of files to a Palm Visor Platinum from a Dell Computer Corp. Pentium 600 notebook using both USB and the SpringPort. The USB sync took 27 seconds, but the identical wireless sync took 69 seconds. Although I don't consider that an accurate measure of optimized throughput, this equates to a modem-like 33.6 Kbps.
Range for the SpringPort slightly surpassed that of Xircom's CreditCard Wireless Ethernet Adapter, which shares a common Cisco radio and MAC (Media Access Control) subsystem. I suspect that the SpringPort's superior range, in comparison with that of the Xircom CreditCard on my Dell Latitude, can be credited to the antenna design and orientation.
Features
The SpringPort is not listed as WiFi certified on the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance's Web site, but Xircom touts it as being compatible with WiFi-certified devices. I tested it with a number of WiFi-certified wireless access points, including the Cisco Aironet 340 and 350 series, Intel Pro/Wireless 2011 LAN access point, and a Linksys WAP11 access point, with good results. Unfortunately, the SpringPort is not compatible with Linksys' popular BEFW11S4 wireless SOHO (small office/home office) router, which is not WiFi-certified.
Xircom's implementation of 802.11b is fairly rich. The module includes support for both 40-bit and 128-bit WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), and it worked flawlessly in my tests. I like the product's support for up to three WLAN (wireless LAN) profiles, which let me define SSID and WEP settings for the various access points used during testing. The product can be run in either peer-to-peer or infrastructure mode, and it also supports 802.11 power management standards -- an essential feature for battery-powered wireless products.
The SpringPort Wireless Ethernet Module is a little expensive when you consider that a Handspring Visor Platinum sells for about the same price. And although the module is technically compatible with many LAN applications, the system's underlying performance limitations should be considered before deploying any application. Nonetheless, if you have an 802.11b wireless infrastructure in place and you are running applications that aren't bandwidth hogs, this is a product you'll definitely want to check out for yourself.
Dave Molta is a senior technology editor of Network Computing. He is also an assistant professor in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University and director of the Center for Emerging Network Technologies. Molta's experience includes 15 years in IT and network management. Send your comments on this article to him at dmolta@nwc.com.
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