Windows Phone Thoughts: Just Mobile's SDIO 802.11g Wireless LAN Card

Compact Giant
There's no question about it, I would have been much more excited about this product 3-4 years ago. When I was using my iPAQ 3820, for example, I would have killed for a WLAN card this small that was 802.11b, much less a “g” card. Back then, it was rare to find WiFi onboard a Pocket PC device, and 3G and EVDO were just dreams. Today, most handheld devices are converged. You don’t see very many stand-alone Pocket PCs. In addition, EVDO and HSDPA are taking the nation by storm. As a result, WiFi on a handheld device is not as critical as it once was. However, having said that, this compact 802.11g adapter has a place in the bag of most mobile warriors.

The first thing you notice about the Just Mobile WLAN solution is its size. Or, rather, should I say, lack thereof. This baby is very small. Not only is it only slightly larger than a regular SD card, but it is almost the size of a SONY Memory Stick Pro Duo. The WLAN card only extends beyond a regular SD card by the amount of space used for the “Just Mobile” sticker on the end of the card. Like any SD card, it's a bit wider than the Memory Stick Pro Duo.


Figure 1: This thing is small - shown compared to a CompactFlash card and an SD memory card.

One of my concerns about the device is that most devices have only one memory slot available. As has often been the concern with SDIO WLAN solutions, this means that you can’t have a WLAN card and a card available for memory working at the same time. You just have to hope that you aren’t going to want to download a large music or video file!

Another concern is that more and more devices are moving to mini-SD and micro-SD cards. While this is irritating to me, having amassed a gaggle of SD cards, it is just the way things are going. Obviously, this card won’t be available for those devices.

What‘s in the Box
The packaging of the card is very clean and appealing. There isn’t much inside and there doesn't need to be. The device itself is the centerpiece, as it should be. When you open the box, you immediately see the card packed in a plastic case. The case resembles the plastic cases that SD cards ship with. While this may not seem like a big deal, it is a very welcome touch. So many of the SDIO WLAN cards available on the market do not come with such a case. This leaves the end-user with the decision of what he or she should use to carry around the device when not in use. Let’s face it; one rarely walks around with such a card sticking out of your device. It’s nice to have a safe case to store it in. I hope that other manufacturers of like solutions will take note.


Figure 2: A standard out of box experience.

Underneath the card is a mini-CD that contains the device driver and the utility for your card. The only other thing in the box is a single 8 X 11 sheet of paper, folded in fours, that contains simple step-by-step instructions to use the card. A word of warning: be sure to go to http://www.mobis.com.tw/products.htm to get the latest driver for the card. By the time I was ready to use it, a new driver was already available.