There are modems, and there are US Robotics Modems

The Background

A lot of people call US Robotics the Nike of computer modems. They're the biggest brand name out there, and they carry the highest price tags. The big difference between USR and Nike is that you're paying for more than just a hyped up company name. You're actually paying for quality.

The Past

I've been through several different kinds of modems and several WinModem's (WDM Modems for you Windows ME users out there). Finally I gave up on my PCTel modem (The 3comm WinModem PCI) and bought a real modem. With the other modems, I was doomed to connect at anywhere from 23,000 bps (bits per second) up to 28,000 bps. To top that off, I was constantly losing connections, and received awful download times.

The Purchase

I was killing time one day and decided to walk into the new Best Buy that opened. Upon entering the doors, I was immediately ambushed by several friendly people with clip boards that offered me credit. Try as I might, I folded and autographed the section that promised me great riches in the electronics industry. I scanned the shelves for a good hardware modem, and the US Robotics practically jumped out and tackled me. It carried a $99 price tag, but I saw other modems with a higher price tag that I know don't perform as well. I wrestled the box to the checkout and gave the modem a new home.

The Install

I was very happy to discover how easy it was to get my new modem up and running. I popped it into my motherboard and booted the computer. Windows detected it right away, and I was able to use it before I even installed the software for it. I signed on to my ISP nice and smooth and twice as fast as before. When I got around to installing the software, I was happy to find a nice little modem information screen that pops up and tells me my connection speed, updates my drivers, and even has a built in troubleshooter. Low and behold, I was connecting at 50,333 bps!!! (For those of you not familiar with modem connection speeds, this is well above average. Most 56K modems WILL NOT connect even close to that.)

The Rating

Once again I give US Robotics two thumbs up. They still hold the market for the best modems around. They may cost a lot, but I doubt the customers that shell out the money are complaining, and those that stick to their $15 Rockwell and PCTel modems are still crying to tech support or the clerks in the merchandise return lanes. I don't work for 3Comm USR, but I stand by the US Robotics modems. If you're still using the soon to be out dated analog modem connections, use one of these modems to do it.