I am considering getting connected to the Internet and have been looking briefly at modems. I note that prices in shops seem to range from $150 to several times as much, yet prices in Sunday computer fairs in Canberra seem to start at less than $50 - all 56K and V.90 compliant (whatever that is). Working on the premise that one does not get what one does not pay for, what is it that the cheaper units lack (other than fancy packaging)?

You are right in saying that modems which are cheaper obviously have less features than higher priced modems. Probably the most significant factor would be the 56k technology they use. The two main 56k propriety protocols are V.90 and 56KFlex. In case you don’t know what these are, V.90 is now the International Telecommunications Union standard for full-duplex (simultaneous sending and receiving of data) transmission of data to modems at 56Kbps. However, the problem is, that if your choice of ISP does not support V.90 then you won’t be able to connect at speeds of 56Kbps (so before you buy a V.90 modem you should ask prospective ISP’s if they support V.90). The second 56K propriety protocol is 56KFlex. Again, the problem is that if you buy a 56KFlex modem and your ISP does not support 56KFlex then you won’t get speeds of 56Kbps. It is all a bit confusing but, in my opinion I would suggest that you get a modem which supports V.90 as this is now the standard and most ISP’s would have adopted this technology already (and if they haven’t, they probably will soon). There are many other features which some modems have and some don’t. One you may be interested in is fax and voice support. Most modern modems are data/fax/voice modems which means that they can transfer data (ie. so you can use them to connect to the internet), they can send and receive faxes, and you can also use them as an answering machine. So I would say it is good to shop around for modems and before you buy one, do examine its specifications and features which are usually summarised on the packaging. As a last point I will address the price differences between shops and computer fairs. Although just about everything for sale at computer fairs is going to be much cheaper than you will find in shops, I would be more inclined to buy a modem from an established retail outlet as those sold at computer fairs probably don’t have warranties and you might not be able to return the product if it doesn’t work.