Introduction
I have a Palm Vx, and a Nokia 6310i mobile phone on an Orange account. A while back, I set up my account for WAP access and GPRS, and I was then able to view WAP pages on the mobile phone. I then wanted to be able to view these pages on my Palm Vx, using an infra-red connection between the two, and this proved to be quite a challenge.
I am documenting the process here, for anyone else who wants to achieve the same thing. If you are using different equipment, then this may still be of some use to you, but it probably won’t work in exactly the same way. In particular, I haven’t used BlueTooth, but I’d imagine that the configuration is quite similar.
Summary
Initially, I tried to figure this out on my own. When that didn’t work, I emailed Orange customer services. They said: “As this is a specialist area which can be complex, please call our Wirefree Data Services Department on 156 (07973 100156) from your Orange phone if you are a pay monthly customer or 451(07973 100451), option 2 for pay as you go customers, where our Representatives will be pleased to assist you in this matter.”
I’m a pay monthly customer, so I called the first number. Then chose:
4 (“For WAP service enquiries”)
1 (“For general WAP enquiries”)
from the menu system.
N.B. The menu options may have changed since I called, so if you phone them you’ll need to listen to the options available, then make the best choice.
They got my account info from my phone number, but needed my password too.
The person I spoke to confirmed that I’ve signed up for GPRS, then talked me through the configuration of my phone and PDA. She also phoned me back on my landline, so that I could adjust the mobile’s settings more easily. I have to say, she was extremely helpful, and I’d never have guessed the info on my own. There was only one minor mistake (see below), and I was able to solve that.
Details
ISP: Orange
Phone number: +44 7973 100500
User name: Orange
Password: Multimedia
Gateway IP Address / DNS IP Address: 192.168.071.035
Mobile
Click the “Menu” button (left button on the main screen)
Scroll to Settings, and click “Select”
Scroll to “GPRS modem settings”, and click “Select”
This has two options: “Active access point” (saying “Access point 1” by default), and “Edit active access point”. Scroll to “Edit active access point”, and click “Select”.
Scroll to “Alias for access point” (the default), and click “Rename”
Rename this to something that’s easier to identify – I chose “Orange GPRS”. Once you’ve typed in the name, click “OK”.
Scroll to “GPRS access point”, and click “Edit”
Type in “orangeinternet” (all lower case, no spaces, no quotes), and click “OK”
Click “Back”
Scroll to “Active access point”, and click “Select”
Select “Orange GPRS” in the list (probably selected by default), and click “Activate”
Click “Back”
Click “Back”
Click “Exit”
That’s the phone configuration finished, although you will need to enable infra-red before you can connect from the Palm. To do this:
Click “Menu”
Scroll to “Infrared”, and click “Select”
It will say “Infrared reception activated”
You don’t need to do this right away, but make sure it’s done when you try to establish the connection later.
Palm
I’m using Palm OS 4.1. If you’re using an older OS, you may need to upgrade and/or install the Mobile Connectivity Kit, and the screens may look different.
Go to the Home page, choose “All” or “System” from the drop down menu in the top-right corner, then click on “Prefs”
Choose “Connection” from the drop down menu in the top-right corner. You shouldn’t need to change anything here, just inspect what’s available.
N.B. I installed some extra drivers for a general GSM phone, and a Nokia 6310, but I don’t need them for this. We just use the “IR to a PC/Handheld” connection.
Select “IR to a PC/Handheld”, then click “Edit…”
It should say:
Name: IR to a PC/Handheld
Connect to: PC
Via: Infrared
Click “Details…”
It should say:
Speed: 115,200 bps
Flow Ctl: Automatic
Click “OK”/”Cancel” on both of these screens, to get back to the list of connections.
Choose “Network” from the drop down menu in the top-right corner.
Either edit an existing service (by choosing it from the drop-down list near the top-left corner), or create a new one (by going to the Service menu and choosing “New”).
Give it a sensible name, e.g. “Orange”.
User name: a
Password: a
N.B. Both lower case
Connection: IR to a PC/Handheld
Click “Details…”
Connection type: PPP
Idle timeout: Never
Query DNS: Yes (the tech support person initially told me to clear this box, but that didn’t work)
IP address: Automatic
Click “Script…”
This is the complicated bit!
To enter a new line, click on “End:”, then choose the appropriate option from the list that appears. This will insert a new line just before the end.
Send: AT&FO&D2&EO
Send CR:
Send: ATV1W1S95=47
Send CR:
Send: AT&K3
Send CR:
Send: AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","orangeinternet"
Send CR:
Send: ATDT*99#
Send CR:
End:
NB In the first line, both “O”s are capital “o”, not zeros.
Click “OK” on both of these screens.
Make sure that the Infra-red connection is enabled on the phone (see above), line up the Palm and the mobile, then click “Connect”.
I’ve tried three WAP browsers:
- Neomar v2 – came with OS 4.1 upgrade CD
- Handspring Blazer v2.0 – shareware ($19.95)
- WAPUniverse version 1.2.11 – shareware ($19.99)
Blazer is the only one that I could get to work. Tip: find a WAP page that you can access on your mobile first, then try accessing that same page from the Palm.