HOT for Palm V/Vx owners: Omnisky Minstrel V Wireless Modem for $49.00 + Shipping!!!

[DieselMan]

It is on clearance HERE for only $49.00! Shipping should be about $8. Surprisingly, it seems that this clearance price has been around for about 2 weeks, but no one posted this anywhere!

FYI, Omnisky (the service provider) has been bought by Mindspring, but the service will continue to run normally, under Omnisky.
Maximum throughput is around 19.2kbps, a far cry from even V.92, but hey, it's wireless, and 3G is still not running full-speed (more like 2.5G).

 

[pamchenko]

does omnisky still charge 40 dollars a month still? I've found a workaround myself for wireless palm computing...I use the palm IR port w/ my GSM nokia (voicestream) and I can get the info i need

 

[happymak]

There's a bunch of these on egay for the same price.

 

[DieselMan]

<< There's a bunch of these on egay for the same price. >>


Yeah, that's why this is better No need to wait for the auction to end, and these are brand new. In addition, you don't have to pay outrageous shipping prices.

The nice thing about this modem, versus any other wireless implementations for the Palm Pilot platform, is that you get a STATIC IP address, and this works via TCP/IP. But it's true, you still have to pay a costly monthly fee to get connected (but it's well worth it if you travel around the country very often). Do also remember that there are no roaming charges, and you can stay on as long as you want (well, until you need to recharge the battery on the modem or the palm), no minute limit.

 

[helpme]

I still have my aircard 300 from their beta program... Couldn't beat 1 year for 25$ a month!.

I've used the card in both my ipaq and laptop...

 

[DieselMan]

btw helpme, what is Arcade Infinity? Any link? interested in playing nemesis

 

[VisionsUCI]

i'm bumping this up bc i have question.

with this modem and os 4.1, could i use my existing regular isp? or does it have to be a special palm-type isp?

 

[Maverick215]

Might want to check OD B&M for this deal... Me thinks it was even a bit cheaper?
not sure bout that, just what I think I remember after being up for like 2 days

 

[VisionsUCI]

well, i guess the more pertinent question for me is whether there is a cheap wireless service provider? somehow i doubt it... maybe i will go with an ipaq in the end with a wireless lan card.

 

[DieselMan]

VisionsUCI,
It's a very good question actually, but I don't know the answer. I know that in NYC, Earthlink (previously Omnisky) uses the Verizon CDPA (or is it CPDA ) network, so there is maybe indeed a way in certain regions to have a wireless ISP provide service entirely?? The thing is Earthlink is in charge of maintaining/upgrading all files necessary on your Palm, and you use their server to "pull" in information such as Pop3 email headers... but maybe none of the earthlink software is needed, just the CDPA connection and 3rd party software like Blazer or AvantGo???

btw, this deal is not HOT anymore, it was at the time I posted though. The modem is now officially at that price if you sign up for a one year agreement (I think, can't remember where I read this); it would still be a good deal if you didn't want to commit. You can grab 2nd hand ones on egay for even $35-$45 shipped, but if you prefer *new*, then it's still not too bad.

And unlike using your GSM cellphone to connect wirelessly today, you actually get close to the theoretical 19.2kbps service (you rarely get above 8kbps with a cellphone; thing are changing with 2.5G and 3G, but none of these stuff are supported by PDA's today).
Also, Earthlink's service is natiowide and there is no usage limit per month, so if you are a frequent business traveler, it is a very good deal.

There is a nice program that works like PC Anywhere that allows you to remotely control your PC from the Palm; great for restarting your machine or starting/stopping services from the Road! It's called PalmVNC, and I've used it with a regular Palm Modem (not the wireless one, but I would think it should work since you do get a permanent static IP with the service).

Finally, I am in need of new buttons for my Palm Vx; does anyone have a dead Palm V/Vx or the original set of buttons (you know, the bottom set with the buttons for datebook, phonebook, todolist, and memopad)? I am sure someone must have bought the Brando's flashy replacement button, and have the original ones sitting around drop me a PM if so.

 

[tyoung88]

So does this only work with omnisky? I'll have to check out the monthly fees. From what I remember tho the spees were horrendous.

 

[DieselMan]

It's under earthlink now, they bought omnisky. The software is much better now, and can run under Palm OS 4.x.