Integrated Wi-fi Vs. SD add in Card

[the_fire_starter]

I've currently got a Ipaq 1940 which only comes with bluetooth. I want wifi so my options are to either buy the add in sd card or sell it and get an X3i. What have been your experiences with add in cards/vs integrated wi-fi? Thanks

[Jason Dunn]

I tend to prefer built-in WiFi just because it's always with me (I tend to forget accessories), but I havne't seen any real advantages in terms of battery or range from built-in versus add-on (but I've never tested either).

[Darius Wey]

I own an h1940 as well, and while I lament over the fact that it lacks Wi-Fi, there are two options that us users ultimately face:

(1) Fork out a large sum of money (it's not cheap) for a card that protrudes out of the device (and may build to personal annoyance), or
(2) Wait until you purchase a new PDA that has Wi-Fi integrated in the device (and looking at many of today's devices, a lot of them have it integrated).

Personally, I'd prefer to wait until I get a new PDA. If at the end of the day, I'd be purchasing a new one anyway, at least I know the amount of money I would have spent to purchase the Wi-Fi card, actually goes in toward the purchase of the new PDA, and so I'd be saving a bit of money in the process. And if you take that into account, your Wi-Fi card would eventually be rendered obsolete (unless you'd still use it in another device). These are my thoughts on the current situation. I'm in a similar situation as you, and I've made my mind up to just wait for a new PDA.

[the_fire_starter]

Thanks Darius, I WAS looking more for economic value. What I kinda want to do is sell my now FIXED h1940 on ebay and for christmas buy an axim X3i but since it's specs are nearly the same I figure spending 150$ on an add in card or 150$ to get a new device wich I KNOW I wouldn't like as much as my h1940(small, loud speaker, good for games, etc.) so I'm stuck :( since the prices of sd wifi cards are going down but not all that slowly I could just resell it when/if i upgrade. :|

[Jason Dunn]

Since you like your 1940 so much, you might instead want to look for a good deal on a 4150. BEAUTIFUL device!

[Darius Wey]

I agree with Jason on that one. If you're looking to get a new device (economics considered), the h4150 is a great device as it includes integrated Wi-Fi. The h1940 and h4150 have very similar form factors, so that's always an option. The h4150, like the h1940, doesn't have WM2003SE. If you wanted that, there's the Axim X30, but the form factor is a little different to the h1940 and h4150.

[Menneisyys]

(1) Fork out a large sum of money (it's not cheap) for a card that protrudes out of the device (and may build to personal annoyance), or
(2) Wait until you purchase a new PDA that has Wi-Fi integrated in the device (and looking at many of today's devices, a lot of them have it integrated).

The especially low speed of the current SD Wi-Fi cards should also be mentioned. PPCT also had a front page article & long discussion on this: http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=28202

[the_fire_starter]

Ok Menneisyys, I don't know wich processor the h1940 uses and I can't find a review but I'll lay out what I want to do with the card. Be able to jump on the internet anywhere I can find a signal (good range). Web Browsing/streaming music and the occasional video, I can't see really downloading anything big really.

[Janak Parekh]

Ok Menneisyys, I don't know wich processor the h1940 uses and I can't find a review but I'll lay out what I want to do with the card. Be able to jump on the internet anywhere I can find a signal (good range). Web Browsing/streaming music and the occasional video, I can't see really downloading anything big really.
The h1940 has a 266MHz Samsung. It's similar to the 400MHz XScales performancewise.

You're right about the numbers; Menneisyys, most Pocket PCs don't have the processing power so the reduced performance of SDIO cards really matter. To me, the only real practical downside of the SDIO card is the fact it sticks out (or has to be taken out to put in a case). As long as your case has a pocket, though, I would consider this mitigable.

--janak

[Menneisyys]

Ok Menneisyys, I don't know wich processor the h1940 uses and I can't find a review but I'll lay out what I want to do with the card. Be able to jump on the internet anywhere I can find a signal (good range). Web Browsing/streaming music and the occasional video, I can't see really downloading anything big really.
The h1940 has a 266MHz Samsung. It's similar to the 400MHz XScales performancewise.

You're right about the numbers; Menneisyys, most Pocket PCs don't have the processing power so the reduced performance of SDIO cards really matter.

You're right; in MOST cases the extra bandwidth (up to 300 kbytes/s with recent, 400-520-624 MHz PDA's, according to my measurements) a CF-based/ built-in Wi-Fi can't really be used because the 30-50 kbytes/s an SD-based Wi-Fi card provides is enough for most purposes. There're cases, however, when they can become very handy.

For example, I store my videos / photos on my corporate PC, accessible via FTP. If I want to download them via FTP as quick as possible (because I want to show a specific home-made video to some of my friends), and the AP I conect to also has a quick Net connection, it's better to dowload stuff at 300 kbytes/s than at 30-50. This is why I woulnd't buy a recent SD-based Wi-Fi card.

Incidentally, I've published my detailed PL720/iPAQ 2210 (With the ASUS CF Wi-Fi card) benchmark results at http://www.firstloox.org/forums/showthread.php?p=16858 - feel free to read it.