Your laptop's data/fax modem card may work fine from Hartford to Honolulu, but you can expect compatibility problems when you take it outside the United States. A new product called ClipperCom, launched to address that problem, picked up the Byte Magazine Best of Show award in the connectivity hardware category at PC Expo '96 in June.
ClipperCom World Data/Fax Modem PC card delivers 28,800 bps data and 14,400 bps fax communications, but the neat part is that it comes with software that allows the user to select a country from among the 15-plus destinations in which it's approved for use (there are 15 to 20 other countries where approval is pending). The modem is then automatically configured for the requirements of the country selected.
The modem card works with most PC-compatible notebook computers (sorry, Mac users) and also works with more than 50 types of analog cellular phones-so you don't need to find a phone line to get down to work. Besides in the U.S., the modem is approved in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Italy, France, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Holland, and South Africa.
The ClipperCom lists for $295. Contact Apex Data, a division of Smart Modular Technologies, Fremont, CA (800) 841-APEX; e-mail: apexdata@smartm.com.