SMC Networks SMC SMCWUSB-G IEEE 802.11b/g USB 2.0 EZ Connect 2.4GHz Wireless Adapter Review

I needed a replacement Wifi adapter for my HP laptop because the OEM built in chip died. I bought this adapter because a review I read said it worked well with their Linux computer. In Linux it is true plug and play. I use Mepis Linux and I plugged it in, went to the Mepis control to input my WEP key and clicked apply and I was surfing the web. The link level of the OEM chip indicated 52. From the same spot in the house with this adapter my monitor reads 82.
I have Windows Vista installed on this computer also and it works well with Vista too. The included software CD was needed for Vista and after inputting the WEP key in Vista I had to reboot Windows to get it to work, but it works well once it is installed.

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Product Description:
The EZ Connect g 54Mbps Wireless USB 2.0 Adapter (SMCWUSB-G) is another cutting edge introduction in 2.4GHz wireless communication for your laptop or desktop. Designed for both business and home users, this new adapter provides the speed, coverage, and security expected by today-s wireless users. Based on the IEEE 802.11g standard, the new EZ Connect g Wireless USB 2.0 Adapter is 5 times faster than the widely used 802.11b wireless networking devices and is 100% compatible with existing 802.11b wireless networks. The SMCWUSB-G is extremely fast and can handle streaming video, multimedia and all other bandwidth-intensive applications. Wireless clients can now easily obtain instant, seamless high-speed network connection. The SMCWUSB-G complies with USB 2.0 and is backward compatible with USB 1.1. With a USB performance of 480 Mbps (40 times the speed of USB 1.1), this new product can take full advantage of the 802.11g bandwidth. Its compact, sleek design makes it convenient and easy to carry. Using the new SMCWUSB-G, you can simplify PC connections in the home, office or on the road. Limited Life Time Warranty. 24/7 Technical Support 1-800-SMC-4YOU.

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NETGEAR WN511B RangeMax Wireless-N Notebook Adapter Review

Well, I finally learned the secret of how to get the best performance from the 11n wireless router: use this interface instead of the built-in one. Now, I can connect from the family room downstairs and get the full rated speed. Before, the best I could manage using the built-in Intel interface was half that. This interface connects on two separate channels to achieve the max. Setup was easy, even on Vista.

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Product Description:

The NETGEAR WN511B RangeMax Next Wireless-N Notebook Adapter offers:

Wireless-N protocol for up to 270 Mbps throughput.
Up to 10 times more range than an 802.11g network.
Backwards compatibility with 802.11g and 802.11b wireless networks.

The NETGEAR WN511B RangeMax Next Wireless-N Notebook Adapter makes it easy for you to provide blazing-speed wireless internet access to your notebook computer, letting you surf the web, check email, stream music, make internet phone calls, and get a leg up on opponents when playing online games.


The WN511B has up to 10 times more range than an 802.11g device. View larger. Easy Setup
The WN511B is a PC Card and requires a Pentium 3 class PC with an available PC Card slot for installation. It supports Windows Vista and is also compatible with Windows XP and 2000 SP4. Setup is as simple as inserting the card into the slot and installing the included software. A built-in stub antenna helps you receive a strong signal for the fastest possible speeds.
Fast, Backwards Compatible, and Secure
The NETGEAR WN511B uses the Wireless-N protocol (based on 802.11n draft) for speeds up to 270 Mbps and a range ten times that of 802.11g adapters. With this much speed and bandwidth, you can easily download large files, place Internet phone calls, download MP3s, stream video, and play online games -- all at the same time, without hiccups, and from farther away. You'll notice the difference immediately.
The WN511B is backwards compatible with 802.11g and 802.11b wireless networks so you'll be able to connect to any hotspot, and it improves network performance up to 50 percent when used with the older 802.11b/g networks.
You can feel secure about your information as the adapter supports Wi-Fi protected access (WPA2-PSK, WPA-PSK) and 64-bit and 128-bit WEP encryption for IEEE 082.11b and IEEE 802.11g. The included software makes managing different WEP passwords a breeze as you can set up different profiles for each location you frequent, saving yourself the trouble of having to type in encryption keys each time you connect to a hotspot you've already used.
The NETGEAR WN511B RangeMax Next Wireless-N Notebook Adapter is backed by a 1-year warranty.
What's in the Box
WN511B RangeMax Next Wireless-N Notebook Adapter, setup CD, warranty/support information card.

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Cradlepoint PHS300 Personal Hotspot (Black) Review

I've done quite a bit of research before I purchased this item. I was well aware of its strength and shortcoming so when I managed to put it to work, nothing surprised me.

The unit is built in hard plastic, pretty sturdy, but I would be careful of not dropping it as a breathable pouch may not be a bad idea. The battery is made in Japan, whereas the unit itself is made in Taiwan. The initial setup is easy. If you're technically challenged, you can go with the default setup which should get you up and running in a few minutes. If you acclaim yourself as a techie, play around the setup menu and you can tap into a lot more features. By default, go to: http://192.168.0.1 from your browser after connecting to the device, it opens up a wealth of menus that you can customize to your own liking

During the setup, I would suggestion doing the followings:

1. Firmware upgrade, the process is easy, but you need to have a working wifi USB to grab the firmware.
2. WPA2 personal is a good security protocol to use, but it does slow down the connection a little bit, but not significant
3. I probably should have put this as item 1 but no big deal. Change the setup password for your protection.

If you screw up the configuration, no worries, just like most of the home routers, you can use a needle to poke a reset button, which is inside the unit, next to the battery compartment, and everything will be reset.

That's about it for the setup part, now let's talk about the design.

Good: relatively compact, light weight, and not too hot after hours of usage. It won't burn your hand or breast if you put it in your shirt pocket. The LED status lights give you good idea of the unit's operation state. Believe it or not, it's pretty useful. The charger is pretty small, takes about 3 hours to charge it full from empty, which is not too bad. Cradle Point claims it should last about three hours, and I found it to be reasonably true, if I only connect one device to it. If you connect more, it will shorten the battery life. The cost of the replacement (or spare) battery is less than $50, which is a bit pricey to me. But I will talk about usage tips later. Wireless broadcast range is quite good, but of course you can't compare it with your home wireless router. Yet, I have never had any trouble connecting with maximum signal with a size of my office, which is about 300 square feet. After all, this is mainly for travel companionship, and you shouldn't be too far away from the unit anyway.

Bad: The thing I hate the most, is the way that you have to plug in your USB device, which is on the side of the unit, right next to the charge port. When plugged in, it sticks out from the unit and it's easy to break in my opinion. If you put it in your jacket or shirt pocket, and if you're not carefully enough, you might bend the USB and destroy the USB port. If CradlePoint is reading this, maybe they should re-design the housing, to have some room side, fitting a wireless USB drive in there. This would protect the drive from accidental damage.

User experience: My goodness, I love this thing. I bought my iPad the first day it came out, and I received this unit the night before I got my iPad. Let me tell you, it makes the iPad so much more fun to use. I can use it anywhere I like. Since it fits any brand of wireless USB, I'm not at the mercy of AT&T's crappy data service. I'm using it with my Verizon 760 wireless modem, and it works like a champ! Since this unit can take on 16 continuous connection, I can use it along with my netbook, or my wife can use it with her iPod touch concurrently. No problem at all!

Tips: If you intend to use the unit for an extended period of time, and you can plug it to a wall jack for powering it up, I would take out the battery, so you won't have to charge the battery continuously. CradlePoint claims that the battery won't have any memory effect, which I seriously doubt, but taking out the battery from the unit takes less than 5 seconds, so why not?

Hope you like my review, and if you do, please rate. Thank you for reading.

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Product Description:
Cradlepoint PHS300 Personal Hotspot

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ZyXEL G202 802.11g USB Wireless Adapter with Weighted Desktop Base, WPA2 and Software Controlled AP Features Review

I started looking at wireless adapters because I was intending to build myself a desktop, and my laptop's wireless card was pre WPA and WPA2.The house I had just moved into had a wireless router already, but it was using WPA encryption, with a pre-shared key (PSK).I of course could not connect with my laptop.

Enter this wonderful zyxel adapter.I purchased it because it was usb, and because of the handy extension and usb stick design.Now, after building my desktop I have it plugged into the back of my desktop with the extension.If I want to use my laptop, I simply disconnect the stick from the stand and plug it into my laptop. It couldn't be easier.

As far as the software goes, I don't see anything particularly wrong with the included software. It's not fancy, but it works.The windows wireless manager also works.And this device works flawlessly with Vista.

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Product Description:

The ZyXEL G-202 is perfect for any situation. With a weighted base, it converts into the perfect Desktop solution. When you're on the go, simply detach the G-202 from its base, cover the exposed USB connector with the included cap, and you're ready! The Software Access Point mode, makes the G-202 a perfect solution for group traveling. Simply plug in your wired connection to your laptop and with a simple click of the mouse, make the G-202 into an Access Point. Share your Internet connection in a local area with security measures including WEP.


Main Features
Manufacturer: Zyxel Communications Corp.
Manufacturer Part Number: G-202
Manufacturer Website Address: www.us.zyxel.com
Frequency Band/Bandwidth Details: 2.412 GHz 2.462 GHz IEEE 802.11b/g ISM Band
Transmission Speed: 54Mbps Auto-fallback IEEE 802.11g, 6Mbps IEEE 802.11g, 11Mbps Auto-fallback IEEE 802.11b, 1Mbps IEEE 802.11b
Host Interface: USB 2.0
Standard Warranty: 2 Year(s)

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Eye-Fi Connect X2 4 GB Class 6 SDHC Wireless Flash Memory Card EYE-FI-4CN Review

Product works exactly as advertised, and is very convenient to have and I'm glad I bought it.It's easy to configure and exceptionally easy to use.

But I have two gripes about issues that I didn't discover until after I got it (but which are well-documented on Eye-Fi's website):

1) With my camera (a Nikon D40), the camera won't leave the power on to the card long enough after a picture is taken, so the pictures don't get uploaded.The workaround is easy - turn the camera off and back on.But it's annoying to have to remember to do that, because that's the point of the card - to not have to think about it.(Of course, this is really Nikon's fault, not Eye-Fi's, but it affects me nonetheless.)

2) The Eye-Fi has a feature that lets it upload both to a home computer and to a website (like Flickr or SmugMug).I knew that the Eye-Fi supported doing the uploads also to an FTP site, and I planned on using that feature to let it upload pictures to my home web server from anywhere I could get a wi-fi connection.It turned out that there were a number of problems with that plan:

a) It only uses "FTPS" while "SFTP" would have been much easier for me to set up, and much more secure

b) The pictures all go through Eye-Fi's servers before going to the FTP site, which I didn't realize (and this part isn't especially well documented), and I'm not OK with that

c) It takes a long time for the pictures to actually make it from the card to Eye-Fi to the FTP server, so it was very hard to trust that the system was working reliably

d) There's no way to tell the Eye-Fi to then NOT upload the pictures via my home wifi, if they were uploaded via FTP.

So I just don't use the "upload via FTP" feature, and that's fine.

So like I said, it's a good product that does what it says, so if you just want it to do the base things, go for it!On the other hand, if you have a D40, or you want to use it to upload to a home FTP site, consider this review before doing so.

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Product Description:
Eye-Fi Connect X2 Automatically transfer photos & videos from your camera to your computer or favorite website. The Eye-Fi Connect X2 offers Class 6 speed enhanced by 802.11n wireless capabilities. Effortlessly free up space after media is safely delivered when using Endless Memory Mode. Get the 4GB Eye-Fi Connect X2 SDHC memory card.

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BL-4U Battery 1000 mAh Li-Polymer (1000 mAh) Review

But didn't look new but I guess it is ok due to cheaper price as long as it has good life.

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Product Description:
Compact and lightweight, this Li-Ion battery provides long-lasting power for your Nokia phone.

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GSKY High Power 500mW 27dBm 802.11b/g USB Wireless WiFi LAN Adapter With High Gain 7dBi Panel Antenna Review

I can't believe how well this adapter works. I bought it for my ASUS netbook... the range on the wireless adapter isn't fantastic and won't work in our basement family room. (the batcave) Even my regular laptop only gets one bar in the batcave, but the netbook couldn't even pick up the signal from my router on the main floor. I tried a Belkin extended range wireless usb adapter. It was no better than the wifi adapter in the netbook and the driver install blew away the setup for the internal router in the netbook without warning. After a quick system restore, I repackaged and returned the Belkin and ordered the GSky with panel antenna. I just installed it in less than 5 minutes with no harm to my existing wireless adapter setup and the range is unbelievable. I am getting all bars (excellent signal) in the batcave. I can't wait to try it downtown to see how many signals I can get now. If you have a basement family room... this is the $20 answer to your problem. The range on this thing is fantastic and so is the price.

Click Here to see more reviews about: GSKY High Power 500mW 27dBm 802.11b/g USB Wireless WiFi LAN Adapter With High Gain 7dBi Panel Antenna

Product Description:
500mW High Power WLAN USB adapter fully supports the features and functional compliance of IEEE 802.11b/g standard. It enables the deployment the latest updated WMMTM (Wi-Fi Multimedia). Our WLAN USB palm provides competitive price, high power and stable performance to PC & NB in wireless network world.

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