Reviews
 
ZDNet > Reviews > Handhelds > Palm > Software > Mobile WinFax
 
 



 
Mobile WinFax
Symantec's new software for mobile users turns Palm organizers with modems into fax machines.
By Bruce and Marge Brown, PC Magazine
August 3, 1999

If you are a highly mobile 3Com Palm user who frequently sends and receives faxes--especially faxes with signatures, annotations, and attachments--you may have interest in Symantec's Mobile WinFax. Mobile WinFax integrates with Palm's Memo Pad and Address Book; HotSync (local or remote); and, if installed on your PC, Symantec's WinFax PRO, to provide flexibility for sending and receiving faxes, managing attachments and cover pages, and logging communications. Mobile WinFax's PDA and desktop capabilities are effectively combined to conserve Palm memory and boost productivity.


Mobile WinFax sends and receives faxes as a freestanding application on your Palm organizer connected via modem to a phone line. To send a fax, you select Create a New Fax, address the fax to one or more recipients, create a cover page (optional), attach up to 16 files (optional), and send the fax or save it in the Outbox for later transmission. A fax must be moved to the Outbox in order to append a signature or other handwritten input.


Receiving faxes is equally easy. You provide the sender with your modem phone number, select Send/Receive Faxes, and choose if you want Mobile WinFax to automatically answer the call. You can view received faxes in one of four zoom levels: 50, 100, or 250 percent; or page-width. In our testing, 100 percent was the most legible option. To see all parts of a faxed page you can scroll around the page using the Palm's stylus. Received faxes can be forwarded and are uploaded to the desktop the next time you perform a HotSync.

To use your desktop computer to send faxes composed on a Palm organizer, select HotSync as the send method and the fax is sent with a cover page and unlimited attachments either the next time you synchronize or at a specified time. If you use your PC to receive faxes automatically while you travel, you'll need a second modem on the PC to perform a remote HotSync with your Palm device. This way, you can always dial in to retrieve faxes sent to your PC.

Libraries of cover pages and file attachments are saved in both the Palm and desktop Mobile WinFax applications. An excellent way to conserve Palm memory is to store only the library references on your Palm device for fax creation; and when you send faxes through your PC, the actual cover pages and attachments are integrated. Storing frequently used attachments and cover page images on your Palm device lets you send faxes independent of the desktop. Note that you cannot retrieve desktop files when mobile unless they are in the Mobile WinFax library--a problem if you don't anticipate all your mobile faxing needs.

For receiving faxes, Mobile WinFax synchronizes with versions of WinFax PRO 8.03 or better. You can also access WinFax PRO's custom cover pages for use in Mobile WinFax, although variable fields are more limited in Mobile WinFax than in WinFax PRO.

Mobile WinFax is a perfect fit for Palm-equipped mobile professionals who process faxes and for those who use a Palm modem for both direct faxing and remote synchronizing to leverage desktop storage, logging, and printing through the desktop application.

Mobile WinFax. PC requirements: 8MB RAM (16MB recommended); 20MB hard disk space; CD-ROM drive; Class 1, 2, 2.0, or CAS-compatible PC fax modem; Windows 95, 98, or NT 4.0 or higher. Palm organizer requirements: Palm OS 2.0 or later; 295KB install space; 512KB free memory (1MB recommended); compatible modem or Option International GSM Snap-on Adapter. Symantec Corp., Cupertino, CA; 800-441-7234, 541-334-6054; http://www.symantec.com/.



 
 
Copyright © 2000 ZD Inc. All rights reserved. ZDNet and the ZDNet logo are trademarks of ZD Inc. Editorial items appearing in ZDNet that were originally published in the US edition of PC Magazine are the copyright property of Ziff Davis Media Inc. or its suppliers. Copyright © 2000 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. PC Magazine is a trademark of Ziff Davis Media Inc.