Good things sometimes do come in small packages. We tested three fax modems that have broken the 14.4-Kbps barrier. These high-speed modems (two supported V.34, one supported V.32terbo) were dependable except when negotiating the noisiest telephone lines.
The Microcom TravelPorte Fast was the fastest pocket modem that we tested. Although it initially experienced some trouble on the impaired lines, changes to its setup string enabled the tests to complete. At the time of testing, Practical Peripherals was unable to resolve its impaired-line problems. This modem just didn't like long local loops or very noisy conditions; and it managed connections less than 50 percent of the time on all but the easiest of the impaired lines.
If you need portability and high-speed communications, you won't have to sacrifice performance. For example, bo
th the Microcom and Practical Peripherals portable modems scored as well or better in our unimpaired throughput tests compared to their full-size counterparts (see page 171).
On the V.32terbo side, there is only one in our sample, the E-Tech P192MX. It had some trouble with satellite lines, so if you are an international traveler, you may want to give this some consideration.
The impaired lines that caused the most trouble with the portable modems are rare in the U.S. If you travel overseas, you may wish to consider the impaired score more heavily.
High Speed For The Road
THROUGHPUT (BYTES PER SECOND)
VENDOR MODEL PRICE ONE-WAY TWO-WAY IMPAIRED LINES
Microcom, Inc. TravelPorte Fast (V.34) $499 6879.9 5038.8 2111.5
Practical
Peripherals, Inc. PM288PKT V.FC (V.34) $499 6827.5 5368.3 765.8
E-Tech Research P192MX (V.32terbo) $299 4456.6 3804.4 1154.7
INTEROPERABILITY (%)
EASE
OF MAXIMUM
VENDOR MODEL CALL ANSWER FEATURES USE DTE*
Microcom, Inc. TravelPorte Fast (V.34) 27 31 ### #### 115.22
Practical
Peripherals, Inc. PM288PKT V.FC (V.34) 27 38 ### ### 115.2
E-Tech Research P192MX (V.32terbo) 31 31 #### ## 115.2
* Kbps.
Excellent ####
Good ###
Fair ##
Poor #
Photograph: Three faster-than-V.32bis travel modems (from left): Microcom's 28.8-Kbps TravelPorte Fast, E-Tech's 19.2-Kbps P192MX, and the 28.8-Kbps PM288PKT V.FC from Practical Peripherals.
Portable Modems
