I knew that with a certain cable, you could connect a laptop to the Internet via a cell phone, so I figured the same could be done on my Visor. After much Web browsing for some kind of solution, I came across Innogear's site (at http://www.innogear.com) where I first saw their fabled "six-pak" Springboard that was to be released last October. As some of you might know, the release date on that module got pushed back further and further until they decided to pull it from their Web site completely. Bummer for me.

My only option at the time was a $200 to $300 OmniSky modem (at http://www.omnisky.com) and $40 monthly service. In my opinion, paying more for a wireless modem than I did for my Visor is ridiculous. Not to mention the $40 monthly fee. Heck, that's what I pay for my broadband at home.

So, I gave up the idea of wireless Web access on my Visor for a long time, making do with AvantGo's very decent offline content browser. That is, until three weeks ago when I was browsing VisorCentral.com (at http://www.visorcentral.com) and saw a blurb about a cable from SupplyNet that connects Motorola CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) cell phones to Handspring Visors. You can find SupplyNet's Handspring Visor to StarTac, TimePort, TalkAbout, and V Series Cellular Data Cable at http://www.thesupplynet.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=5307. It's pictured in Figure A.

FIGURE A


With this cable from SupplyNet, you can connect your Visor to a variety of Motorola cell phones. Roll over picture for a larger image.

The very next morning, I ordered the cable for my Visor and added the wireless Web option to my phone. I came home from work three days later to find my package had come in. It was a simple cable. One end connected to the HotSync connector of my Visor, and the other connected to the bottom of my StarTac phone. I snapped it on both devices and proceeded through the connection and network settings per the included instructions.

Within 15 minutes, I was on the Internet, instant messaging my cousin. I was very surprised at how easy the whole process was. I'm usually the one to get stuck in the technical details, but this is truly a simple setup procedure that anyone should be able to handle.

One of the nice little extras included is the ability to use your wireless provider's ISP (Internet Service Provider) instead of being forced to connect via a dial-up ISP. This was especially useful for me because, as I mentioned before, I have broadband at home, so there were no dial-up access numbers for me to use