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SCMP Reporter

The idea of being able to compose and send or receive a fax while standing in a crowded MTR or lying on a beach may seem far-fetched or just science fiction, but the technology and devices to do so are available.

 Devices such as Nokia's 9110 Communicator can do Web browsing, voice, e-mail and fax communications virtually anywhere, but there is demand for a small multi-purpose device that can be used to send and receive faxes on the road.

 Symantec's Mobile WinFax adds such functionality to 3Com's Palm series of handheld computers, allowing faxes to be composed on the road and sent from the nearest telephone or PC.

 And because Palm devices are pen-based, faxes created with Mobile WinFax can be embellished with your signature or diagrams.

 Mobile WinFax works with all Palm devices that run Palm OS 2.0 and above, and Palm Desktop 2.1 or later. These include the latest Palm devices from 3Com, such as the Palm Professional, Palm III, Palm IIIx and Palm V organisers, and devices from IBM and Symbol Technologies that use the same technology as the Palm devices.

 Mobile WinFax will run on older Palm devices with memory upgrades. Symantec recommends about 1MB of available memory.

 Like most applications for Palm devices, Mobile WinFax is first installed on a desktop or notebook computer, and then transferred to the organiser by a Hotsync.

 Depending on the amount of memory available and how you plan to send and receive faxes, you can opt to install only the main Mobile WinFax application (124kb) or the full 251kb suite, which adds a fax viewer and a utility for sending and receiving faxes from the Palm device.

 Installing Mobile WinFax on my laptop and transferring it to the Palm V organiser I used for testing worked like a dream.

 There are two ways to send/receive faxes on a Palm device. One is to use the Palm organiser to compose faxes and have them sent at the next HotSync, the other is to send or receive the fax using a Palm device modem.

 We used the Palm V modem, a small double AA battery-powered device about the size of the organiser, to test the latter method.

 The full Mobile WinFax interface is deceptively simple, with just three icons for creating faxes, viewing faxes and sending and receiving.

 In fact, the minute application has much of the main functionality of its WinFax older brother; you can send cover pages, a fax page header, station identifier and attachments with your Palm device as well as pull multiple fax recipients out of your Palm address book. You can also fax Palm memos.

 I got a glimpse of what the information age will be like when I tried my first fax from a PDA. I have sent many faxes before from PDA devices, such as Apple's ill-fated translucent green Newton-based eMate computer, but nothing as small as the Palm V. I plugged the Palm modem into my telephone line and held it in my hand as it sent its first fax.

 It was all over quickly and the fax arrived complete with cover page, date, page header, number of pages and signature.

 What about receiving faxes? Although it is possible to receive faxes on the Palm V if you have the modem, I fail to see how anyone would want to use it to do that, though if you needed a quick price list from your supplier or directions to an important meeting, the Palm V could come in handy.

 I sent a complex fax of shades of grey, graphics, Chinese characters and unusual page layout from my fax machine to the Palm V, which it received without problem.

 However, viewing all but the simplest faxes on the Palm could be a problem due to screen size, resolution and processing power. The Palm V was slow at displaying my complex fax, although it did a better job with text faxes.

 The best way to view faxes received on a Palm device is to HotSync with the desktop or laptop. You can then view, print or store the fax easily on the PC while saving valuable space on the organiser.

 Mobile WinFax is a surprisingly versatile program and for Palm organiser owners who want the device to do more than manage contacts and appointments, this is a good application.

 Combine Mobile WinFax with the Palm V and the Palm V Modem and what you have is a fax machine that fits in your pocket, and - with a GSM adapter - can operate wirelessly.

REVIEW PROS AND CONS Product: Symantec Mobile WinFax (US$45) Pros: All main fax features available in miniature Cons: Palm viewer sometimes not up to the task Platform: Windows 98, 95, or Windows NT 4.0 Other costs: Palm V (US$449); Palm V modem (US$169); GSM kit (US$89, works with modem) 



Software makes Palm V into fax machine