Socket Communications Releases the Go Wi-Fi! E300 Card

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.socketcom.com/product/WL6207-600.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.socketcom.com/product/WL6207-600.asp</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Socket Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCKT), an innovative provider of mobile productivity products, today announced the Go Wi-Fi!™ E300 Card. Designed for Windows Mobile 2003 devices with SDIO Now! interface, the Socket Go Wi-Fi! E300 is the smallest, fastest, most secure 802.11b SDIO Wi-Fi card available. It includes Socket’s Wi-Fi Companion software application, an intuitive graphical utility that enables users to easily find, connect and manage favorite Wi-Fi networks"</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20050802-SocketE300.gif" /><br /><br />Socket Communications has jumped into the compact SDIO Wi-Fi market with the release of the new Go Wi-Fi! E300 - claimed to be three times faster than their original SDIO Wi-Fi card. This card supports open, 40/64/128-bit WEP and WPA/WPA-PSK, and has an MSRP of US$89. It also includes the <a href="http://www.socketcom.com/product/SW1221-596.asp">Socket Wi-Fi Companion software</a> as part of its bundle. I can see all you HTC Magician users pouncing on this one in an instant. ;)

[DaleReeck]

If the label indicates how far the card sticks out, I think you are close to a card that could be left in a device full time without being at risk of breaking. If only they could get their wifi card down to the zero stickout-ness of their bluetooth card :)

[Sven Johannsen]

Like to see this side by side with the Spectec one. Wouldn't be surprised if they aren't twins ;)

I don't see why they couldn't make it completely enclosed. The miniSD Wifi would disappear in an SD slot, and it has all the required guts. Question would be if the total enclosure would screw up the radiation/reception. Then again, my 4155 and X50 antennas are totally enclosed...but they were designed to be.

Got to say that Socket has always been a quality product and the inclusion of the software is a nice bonus.

[Raphael Salgado]

...I don't see why they couldn't make it completely enclosed. The miniSD Wifi would disappear in an SD slot, and it has all the required guts...

Regarding the miniSD version, it's been determined that the Spectec SD-822 miniSD Wi-Fi card will stick out slightly more proportionately than its SD counterpart, and definitely won't be flush with its SD adapter either.

Just take a look at a stock miniSD memory card and the miniSD Wi-Fi card next to each other - the miniSD Wi-Fi card is clearly taller.
http://davesipaq.com/vbmcms/images/650minisd2.jpg

Taken from: http://davesipaq.com/news/005125/ipaq_6500_minisd_wifi

Going back to the SD form factor, msmobiles.com (http://msmobiles.com/news.php/4104.html) reports the Socket SD Wi-Fi card is 40mm in height, while Spectec has it beat at 38.5mm. So, what they announce here (http://www.socketcom.com/about/press/read.asp?ID=171):
Socket Communications Launches Go Wi-Fi! E300 for Windows Mobile 2003 Devices; Smallest, Fastest Wi-Fi Card Available
...is already inaccurate.

Also, Socket Communications unfortunately have been sticklers when it comes to releasing drivers. I recalled that they were charging for some improvements for an old Bluetooth card I had in my old Sony U70P, so I dumped them entirely and went to a different manufacturer. Also, I didn't like their BlueSoleil software, as it had issues with other programs trying to connect. If they went with a native solution such the one built-in on Windows XP, I would have appreciated them better.

[Sven Johannsen]

...I don't see why they couldn't make it completely enclosed. The miniSD Wifi would disappear in an SD slot, and it has all the required guts...

Regarding the miniSD version, it's been determined that the Spectec SD-822 miniSD Wi-Fi card will stick out slightly more proportionately than its SD counterpart, and definitely won't be flush with its SD adapter either.

I know the miniSD sticks out of a miniSD slot. MiniSD adapters are designed for a regular miniSD card to be flush. I don't think they have to be. Put the MiniSD Wifi next to a standard SD card card and I think it would fit entirely within it. Anyone got a Spectec MiniWiFi and can lay it on top of a standard SD and take a picture? So package the miniSD guts in a standard SD body.

[Raphael Salgado]

...SD adapters are designed for a regular miniSD card to be flush. I don't think they have to be. Put the MiniSD Wifi next to a standard SD card card and I think it would fit entirely within it...

Every mini-SD adapter I've seen will make the miniSD memory card flush, but since this miniSD Wi-Fi card is taller, you'll surmise that the two joined together will be taller than the SD version of the Wi-Fi card.

Examples:
http://store1.yimg.com/I/meritline_1852_7043522.jpg

http://store1.yimg.com/I/meritline_1853_14390735.jpg

Of course, you can't stick a miniSD directly into an SD slot, as the connector is different. I think the manufacturers are having a hard time getting a good signal when the card is surrounded or nearly engulfed by the slot, so it'll have to stick out. As for ones that are designed inside the body like the HTC Blue Angel or upcoming ETEN M600, I'm sure they lined a good portion of the antenna around the side or top of the device.

[Paragon]

I think the manufacturers are having a hard time getting a good signal when the card is surrounded or nearly engulfed by the slot, so it'll have to stick out. As for ones that are designed inside the body like the HTC Blue Angel or upcoming ETEN M600, I'm sure they lined a good portion of the antenna around the side or top of the device.

I think you are correct. With devices that have integrated WiFi they were designed with that in mind. Sticking the antenna of a wifi card inside a device that wasn't designed for it I could see problems.

I seem to remember reports back before we had devices running multiple radios, that the device designers were having problems running multiple radios on devices and had a devil of a time getting the designs and shielding right. Given that I have always thought that WiFi cards were designed to stick out purposely.

Dave

[Darius Wey]

Got to say that Socket has always been a quality product and the inclusion of the software is a nice bonus.

Agreed. Price ain't bad either. You get what you pay for (and maybe a bit extra too). :mrgreen:

[Darius Wey]

Also, Socket Communications unfortunately have been sticklers when it comes to releasing drivers.

For what it's worth, I've compared the number of SDIO Wi-Fi drivers available for the Pocket PC (primarily that of Sandisk and Socket), and Socket's latest available driver package is by far the better of the two.

[Sven Johannsen]

Thanks Raphael143, for posting the pics. I didn't even think about just comparing the miniSD to it's own adapter. The top picture kind of shows what I was saying. Even extended by a couple of mm, that miniSD would fit entirely within the form factor of that SD adapter.That would indicate whatever is in the extended miniSD would fit in an SD package. The propagation characteristics if you do that are a different subject all together, but a very important subject. No point in making a flush card if it wouldn't perform well. That kind of brings up the SMT5600 question. Even if you could fit the card in there under the battery, would you get any reasonable performance.

[Jerry Raia]

Allow me to resurrect another old thread here. I just got one of these for my 6515 an although not listed on Sockets web site, it works great.