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[ Go to March 1997 Table of Contents ]
WinLab Reviews
-- by Marc Spiwak
Everybody wants a 33.6 modem these days, but with so many affordable ones on the market, it's hard to know what to buy. Best Data's Smart One 336F internal fax modem is worth considering. A Plug-and-Play unit that supports throughput rates up to 134Kb per second, with V.42bis data compression and MNP5 error correction, it also offers MNP10 error correction for improved performance with poor line conditions. It supports automatic rate renegotiation, call discrimination, distinctive ring and Caller ID, and it comes with a five-year warranty and a CD containing data/fax software and trial subscriptions to online services. The Smart One installed without a hitch under Windows 95. On power-up, Windows 95 immediately saw the new hardware and asked for a driver diskette, then prepared the modem for use. The Smart One 336F offers everything most people need in a modem. But if you also want voice-mail and speakerphone functions, you'll find them (along with all of the 336F's capabilities) in Best Data's 336SP, which costs $179. Unfortunately, the 336F is not flash upgradable and doesn't always connect at the highest possible speeds, so it doesn't make our Recommended List. Price: $139 Platforms: 3x, 95 Best Data Products 800-632-2378, 818-773-9600 Circle #874 or visit Winfo Online WinMag Box Score: 3.0 Copyright (c) 1997 CMP Media Inc.
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