GPRS terminal with TCP/IP stack

[info@ckmintech.com]

I am working on a project which requires to send data by using GPRS TCP/IP connection and looking for a suitable GPRS terminal (RS232 connection with PIC).

Is there any recommendation where to buy and how much it will cost?

Thanks

[ckielstra]

The answer depends on how many units you expect to sell. You can buy the GPRS modem in a fully enclosed housing with integrated power supply, RS-232 connectors and compliant to all the regulations but these are expensive. Or you can buy the cheaper bare module, integrate this onto your own PCB and get your own type approval. Passing all the required conformance tests however is expensive so you only want to do this for larger unit quantities.
Besides these two extremes there exist some modules that are to be integrated into your own device for power supply and external connections but which already have type approval.

As a rule of thumb:
1-20 units: Buy a complete encased, external, modem for around EUR140.
20-200 units: Consider a semi complete module with type approval. EUR110 a piece.
200+ units: Buy the bare module and get your own type approval. EUR70 a piece.

In the market for Machine to Machine communication (M2M) modules a consolidation is going on. Early this year the Sony/Ericsson division was bought by Wavecom.
You said GPRS, so I assume your main market is Europe. Possible manufacturers are:
- Falcom
- Nokia (sold (?) to Aplicom)
- Siemens (Mobile phones division sold to Benq but looks like the modules are still Siemens)
- Telit
- Wavecom (also including former SonyEricsson)

For America you could also have a look at:
- Kyocera
- Motorola

We are happy users of the Wavecom modules but as far as I know the other brands are good as well.