Belkin USB Infrared Smartbeam
There used to be a time not so long ago when a PC was considered very much a standalone affair. Times have moved on and we've seen an increasing number of devices crop up that complement and interact with a PC, giving it a greater multimedia feel.
The modern, mobile professional is rarely seen without an infrared-compatible mobile phone, PDA (Personal Data Assistant), or laptop computer. These devices allow them to more efficiently conduct their business. The question is how one integrates these devices with their main PC ?.
The whole idea of mobility effectively dictates that connections be cable-free. Users need to ability to back-up and synchronise data and files between various mobile devices and a hardwired PC quickly, efficiently and with the minimum of fuss. Here is where the Belkin USB - Infrared Smartbeam, our review hardware for today, comes in rather useful.
Belkin, the US peripheral manufacturer, has enjoyed tremendous growth since its inception in 1983. They are now synonymous with providing almost every conceivable peripheral available. Think of KVM switches, networking, USB-related, broadband, wireless communication, cables and UPS' to name but a few and Belkin usually have several products on offer.
The Smartbeam is actually a very simple idea. It allows your IrDA v1.0 devices to communicate with your main computer by simply using a tiny USB-powered receiver. Nice and elegant. Let's have a look at it in a little more detail now.
The packaging is robust and colourful, in today's homogenous world, packaging sells, Belkin's components have always scored highly from this point of view. Once opened, you are greeted with the following contents.
The above picture gives you some insight into just how small the Smartbeam is, you could seat two on a single floppy diskette. It's completely bus-powered meaning no external power is necessary. As mentioned, you also get a diskette containing Win98/ME/2000/XP drivers, a brief user's manual, a 1m USB A-B cable and the unit itself.
The Smartbeam sits on a rubber platform that can be manipulated to allow a reasonable degree of angle change, useful for fine-tuning the beam for optimum connectivity. You simply connect the supplied USB cable to any available USB downstream port, easy, eh ?.
We now briefly know what it does and what it looks like, let's investigate its specifications and performance on the following page.
