tionality to the Ericsson version. Unlike Eircell, Esat Digifone does not currently package data products. ‘It would be very difficult to come up with something to meet everyone’s requirements’, says Digifone’s Pat O’Connell. ‘There are so many different variations of phones, cards and software’. Instead, the network’s customer care executives in the Grafton Street and Henry Street Digicentres in Dublin explain the technology that is required and how it works.
Nokia 6110 Solution: phone, laptop and the software needed for fax and e-mails
municate with infrared-ready laptops or PCs without the need for any cable or data card. Devices such as the Nokia Communicator, meanwhile, integrate the phone and portable computing functions within a single unit. The mobile phone networks have not been slow to recognise the growing market for mobile data and fax communications. They also recognise the fact that it’s a relatively confusing area for many people who would like to use the technology. Late last year, Eircell introduced its Networker range of complete mobile communications packages. The Networker packages range in price from £299 to £599 for first-time connections and connection upgrades, and include a GSM phone and 30 days’ free access with Indigo’s Internet service. Two of the packages – incorporating the Nokia 9110 and the Ericsson MC16 – provide all the hardware and software needed for hooking-up to the Internet, sending e-mails and downloading files. The Nokia 9110 Communicator package costs £599 and consists of a GSM phone, which opens up into a hand-held computing device with ‘qwerty’ keyboard and VGA screen. The Communicator allows basic word-processing and has its own calendar facility for tracking appointments. Without connecting up to any other device, it is possible to compose, send and receive e-mail messages and faxes and surf the Internet. A PC suite is also provided so that users can connect up to their desktop PC to transfer and back up files. The Ericsson MC16 Solution includes an Ericsson GH688 GSM phone and an Ericsson MC16 palmtop computer, which includes Windows Compact Edition (CE), an
26 LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE
infrared port, fax and Internet Explorer software and a modem. The palmtop can use cutdown versions of standard Microsoft applications, including Pocket Word, Pocket Excel and Pocket PowerPoint. Data can be synchronised with a desktop computer. The other packages in the Networker range include Ericsson SH888 and Nokia 6110 phones. With the SH888, the Ericsson Mobile Office Suite is included, allowing the user to connect to a laptop via infrared or a cable connection. It provides all the software needed to send and receive faxes and e-mails. The Nokia 6110 package includes Nokia Data Suite 2.0, which provides similar func-
Worldwide wait But how practical is the job of hooking up to the Internet and sending and receiving faxes and e-mails using a mobile phone connection? ‘Going on-line is grand for doing things like checking e-mail when you’re away from the office’, O’Connell says. ‘Likewise, you can prepare e-mails when working off-line and then dial in to send these messages. But nobody believes that life is long enough to surf the Web using your mobile phone – it’s more like the worldwide wait’. He also points out that users may need to specify the maximum file size for downloading within their e-mail programs, otherwise they could be waiting around during the transmission of particularly large files. O’Connell says that Digifone has noted a big increase in the amount of data traffic over the network in the last few months. ‘Our market research shows that the main component of this traffic is the transmission of e-mail’, he says. ‘We see emerging technologies making Web access more usable in the future’. One technique will allow your browser to recognise the device you’re using and filter the content, so if you’re browsing the Internet with a mobile phone and a PDA, you’ll see a cut-
‘Mobile phone networks have not been slow to recognise the growing market for mobile data and fax communications’
Nokia 9110 Solution: a GSM phone which opens into a handheld computer/fax (£599)
down version of the web site you are trying to access. On the other hand, if you’re using a more powerful machine and are connected via an ISDN line, you will be able to view the pages in their full animated glory. Of course, accessing e-mail and downloading files remotely does not necessarily have to involve a mobile phone. If you’re working from home – or indeed anywhere that has a convenient telephone line – it makes more sense, both in terms of cost and speed, to dial in from the landline rather than a mobile. Ultimately, the kind of computing device you use during your travels will depend on what you are using it for, and on the level of
APRIL 1999