After my old reliable Zoom Telephonics 56K modem died in a tragic lightning storm, I was in the market for a new 56k modem. I decided upon this modem as of course there was no chance I'd get a winmodem or worse a controllerless modem. I found this modem and loved the design. I got the USB version because the serial version was opaque black rather than transparent :) Do not be fooled by the picture of the modem, it is actually a translucent blue. The picture appears green-blue. I have had no problems with the modem. It performs as expected for a decent 56k consumer-level modem. I connect reliably at 49,333 and downloads at mid-5.x KBps speeds. It comes with a CD-ROM full of software, but being a modem, what do you need software for? I threw the CD aside and forgot about it. USB PnP sets the modem up instantly with no hassle. It requires 500 mA of hub-provided power as there is no external power source so be sure to connect it directly to the USB port or to a self-powered hub. Myself, I am using a D-Link DSB-H4 hub with it with no problems. One disadvantage of this modem is the lack of status lights. I prefer external modems because of these. It has off-hook, send data, receive data and On. This is sufficient more or less but I am biased toward my Zoom modem with around 15 status lights. The only lights I deeply miss is the carrier-detect and clear to send.
Being fairly expensive for a modem in the days of software and 2 dollar controllerless modems, I recommend you get some type of phone line protection in the event of an electrical storm. This is how I lost my previous modem which in fact had built in protection. Diamond makes no note of any included protection with this modem.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 81