The Apple USB Modem is a combined 56 kbit/s data modem and 14.4 kbit/s fax external

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), for digital data transmission and power delivery between many types of electronics. It specifies the architecture, in particular the physical ...

modem The Democratic Movement (, ; MoDem ) is a centre to centre-right political party in France, whose main ideological trends are liberalism and Christian democracy, and that is characterised by a strong pro-Europeanist stance. MoDem was establis ...

introduced by

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

after the internal 56k modem was dropped on the October 12, 2005 iMac G5 revision. While it looks similar, it should not be confused with Apple's optional USB Ethernet Adapter accessory, available for its

MacBook Air The MacBook Air is a line of Mac (computer), Mac laptop computers developed and manufactured by Apple Inc., Apple since 2008. It features a thin, light structure in a machining, machined aluminum case and currently either a 13-inch or 15-inch ...

and MacBook Pro Retina range of laptops since 2008.

History

Apple introduced its first true modems in 1984, the ''Apple Modem 300'' & ''1200'' modems ( ITU-T V.21 and V.22). Prior to that they offered a third party Apple-badged comparatively low-tech

acoustic coupler In telecommunications, an acoustic coupler is an interface device for coupling electrical signals by acoustical means—usually into and out of a telephone. The link is achieved through converting electric signals from the phone line to so ...

. Those were followed by the industry standard 2400/data and combined 9600/fax ( ITU-T V.29) ''AppleFax Modem'' in 1987. Apple introduced the internal 2400 data/fax modem card for its

Macintosh Portable The Macintosh Portable is a portable computer that was designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from September 1989 to October 1991. It is the first battery-powered Macintosh, which garnered significant excitement from critic ...

in 1989 as well as released its last external desktop ''Apple Data Modem 2400''. Only standard internal modems were offered during the 1990s through 2005, with the notable exception of Apple's foray into GeoPort passive

telephony Telephony ( ) is the field of technology involving the development, application, and deployment of telecommunications services for the purpose of electronic transmission of voice, fax, or data, between distant parties. The history of telephony is ...

modems which relied heavily upon the computer's software and processing power rather than dedicated hardware (like Apple's proprietary internal ''Express Modem''). The ''Apple USB Modem'' is Apple's first true external modem since the ''Apple Data Modem 2400'' was discontinued in 1992. As of September 2009 it is no longer available in the US Apple Store, but it still works (at least for fax) as of

Mac OS X macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

version 10.6.2. No officially supported 64-bit driver exists, and as

Mac OS X Lion OS X Lion, also known as Mac OS X Lion, (version 10.7) is the eighth major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Mac computers. A preview of OS X 10.7 Lion was publicly shown at the "Back to the Mac" Apple Speci ...

operates by default in 64-bit mode, the USB modem will not function in Lion without workarounds.odems>

Features

The Apple USB Modem supports V.92,

Caller ID Caller identification (Caller ID) is a telephone service, available in analog and digital telephone systems, including voice over IP (VoIP), that transmits a caller's telephone number to the called party's telephone equipment when the call is ...

, wake-on-ring, telephone answering (V.253), and modem on hold. The modem is manufactured by

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...

. A

device driver In the context of an operating system, a device driver is a computer program that operates or controls a particular type of device that is attached to a computer or automaton. A driver provides a software interface to hardware devices, enabli ...

for the modem was introduced with

version 10.4.3. It retailed for

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

49 at the time of its introduction. Apart from using the Apple USB Modem for

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

dial-up and faxing, it is also being suggested as a low cost line interface (aka FXO interface) for telephony applications, such as for telephone systems (software PBX) and answering machine software. The highly miniaturized product, about the size of a cigarette lighter and with a 4.6-inch long USB cable, won a RED DOT design award for good design.

Windows support

In Windows, the modem identifies itself as "Motorola SM56 USB Data Fax Modem" and a driver was provided via Boot Camp Assistant.

References

{{portal, Internet, Telecommunication, Electronics Apple Inc. peripherals Modems Computer-related introductions in 2005 Products and services discontinued in 2009