The Complete Fax/Portable; specifications and reviews for three portable PC-based fax units - Hardware Review - The Complete PC's The Complete Fax/Portable - evaluation

Home Office Computing, Jan, 1991

Specifications and Reviews for Three Portable PC-Based Fax Units

The Complete Fax/Portable

Rating * * * List price $499 Manufacturer; phone The Complete PC; (408) 434-0145 Hardware requirements 512K IBM compatible with 3MB of hard-disk space, graphics card, and serial port; telephone line with standard modular connector; DOS 3.1 or later Transmission speed (Fax only) 9600 bits per second (bps) Features Polling; scanner support File formats supported ASCII, TIFF, .CUT, .PCX, .MSP Dimensions 6 by 3 by 1 inches Weight 10 ounces (including replaceable 9-volt battery) Review The Complete Fax/Portable stands out for high quality, handsome design, ease of use, and clarity of faxes, both sent and received. A lightweight AC adapter and 9-volt battery are included, along with a pair of full-length serial cables.

The software, which comes on two 3.5 inch disks, is easy to install and supports over 30 popular printers. The documentation is unusually well organized and well written. While it seems complex at the outset, the software is fairly easy to use. It operates in two modes: a full-screen, menu-driven interface for stand-alone use; and a pop-up send facility, accessible from within your applications. In addition to sending clear fax renditions of your documents, the Complete Fax generates an elegant cover sheet. If you scan in your company logo and/or your signature as graphics, the unit will include them, making on-the-road correspondence practically indistinguishable from what you'd produce in your office.

Reception, from whatever fax source, is trouble-free (although I found the documentation relating to background operation less than adequate). Once a fax is received, you can display or print it with equal ease and quality. You can automatically delete a received fax from the menu if desired, and you can view a directory of received faxes that are still on disk. You can also set up the software to print faxes automatically as they are received.