D-Link DWL-G730AP AirPlus G High Speed 2.4GHz 802.11g Wireless Pocket Router/AP by D-Link
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Digital camera reviews of D-Link DWL-G730AP AirPlus G High Speed 2.4GHz 802.11g Wireless Pocket Router/AP
Digital camera Review: Flawless and handy unit for travelers
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had my D-Link Pocket Router for months now and absolutely love it. It goes wherever I go. I use it mainly as a Router/firewall in hotel and conference rooms, but have also used the Access Point mode successfully. Both worked without a hitch. Router setup is particularly easy because it's done wirelessly - don't need a patch cord to set it up. I have even used the pocket router in a tradeshow to multiply an expensive connection. Compact, handy and it works.Digital camera Review: For experts only
Summary: 1 Stars
Since I received this router, I have spent at least 3 hours with customer service trying to get the thing configured so it would be recognized by my hardware and connect to the internet. Unless you are a very savvy techno person, I do not recommend this item. The tech support guy was as nice as could be, but he had me going through places in my system I never want to go again. (DOS command lines!) And when I finally got my Windows Vista system working through this router, I asked about using it in a hotel in Europe. He said to call them and they would help me set it up. Call him? From Europe? And spend hours getting it set up? I pointed out that that was not realistic, and he said to use the manual. I had tried that before I called him in the first place! And we never did get my Windows 7 system to work. Nor my iPhone.
Think carefully before you go here.
Digital camera Review: For those with an XBOX 360, looking for Microsoft alternative
Summary: 5 Stars
Why we bought it...
I specifically bought this item to be used with an XBOX 360 from my son that we wanted to move out of the family room. His bedroom did not have a wired connection like the family area so we opted for, rather than pulling more cables through the wall, for a wireless connection. Since my son(s) are extremely active on XBOX Live we needed the connection.
Since the XBOX will not be used by him to stream large HD video over the home network we did not need anything wired and the DSL connection at 1.5MBPS is BY FAR less that the available bandwidth of this router. Conclusion: a basic 11 mbps OR BETTER ethernet bridge / client would be more than sufficient for Live play.
We also frequently travel, either with the family and for business, and want to share 1 wired internet connection in most hotel rooms with everyone that has their laptop with them (my kids drag their Compaq bricks around everywhere to play Runescape).
After looking at the MS wireless adapter that is 'made' for the XBOX 360 we decided that that was a rubbish solution at 90$. We looked for alternatives by simply specifying:
- wireless gaming adapter
- wireless ethernet bridge
- game adapter
Using those searches you will find a range of products that satisfy the requirements of the XBOX and provide superbly stable connections to XBOX Live.
I ended ordering several of the options (reviewed elsewhere) over a series of months but ended up giving them away to needy fellow XBOX friends of my son who did not have the $ to buy their own.
Alternatives...
The alternatives we used were:
- Netgear WGA11B (bought on auction site for <30usd) , wireless B @ 11mbps
- D-Link DWL-810+ (bought used for <40usd), wireless B @ 11 mbps
- D-Link DGL-3420, wireless G @ 108mbps if used with matching router
- D-Link DWL-G730AP, wireless G @ 54mbps if used with matching router specs
I will not go into individual reviews of these items here but the key is:
- They all worked 100% flawless with the XBOPX 360 and the XBOX Live
- There is NO performance difference in online play, regardless of the touted speeds of these bridges as the lowest 11mbps already far exceeds the internet bandwidth you have via your routers WAN port
Why I kept the DWL-G730AP... and bought another...
This hardware is capable of running as a full fledged router (router mode), a gaming adapter (client mode) and Access Point (AP mode).
Router mode: functions as a full featured router, e.g. you can connect it to a DSL model or Cable Modem and it will function as a wireless router.
AP mode: if you connect it to a router that does not have wireless ability then this will functions as an access points for multiple wireless devices to connect to.
Client Mode aka Gaming Adapter aka ethernet bridge: you can use it to connect ANY device with a ethernet port (wired) to this product and it will then in turn connect to your wireless router or AP.
Given the wide usage of this item I decided to buy it. Nothing, I mean NOTHING, in the market comes close to the capabilities described above at the price it goes for new (roughly half of the MS product).
What's in the box...
It comes in a fake leather purse, size of a paperback, with DLink pressed into it. When you open it it has the router/ap/client-unit, a small AC Adapter, 1 ethernet flat-cable (a thin and flat ethernet cable of about 2 feet), a CD with manual etc and a Quick Install booklet.
Installing it...
If you haven't done this before it might take a few minutes but the concept is simple:
1. The unit is preset at 192.168.0.30 (common for clients) for the client (that is the mode I set up).
2. Ensure that the PC you do the setup with is in the same subnet (255.255.255.0) and has a athernet address in the same subnet as the unit, i.e. 192.168.0.31
3. If the PC does not have that then go into the TCP/IP properties of the network connection and use these settings (I'll stop now because this is not intended as a setup manual, the booklet is more than adequate)!!!
4. Put in the needed settings to connect to your router. Then save and reboot the unit.
The rest is easy: you connect it to the XBOX 360 and boot it up and watch the connection take place. The Quick setup is quite excellent and it took me a whole 5 minutes to configure the whole unit with wireless encryption and all.
Other considerations...
Consider that wireless B in a wireless network setup can reduce the overall performance of your wireless network.
The antenna is strong: my sons wireless laptop has a 47% connection in his bedroom and when this unit is connected he gets a 87% with his laptop. There are 2 floors and MANY walls between router and unit.
Do not use this if using the XBOX 360 as a media player as wireless in general is not good enough for good performance. This is excellent for XBOX Live.
I put in some photos to complete the review. I have used many D-Link products over time and realize that D-Links can be quirky but they tend to be loaded with capability. This is one of the better executed units they have ever done but they failed to properly advertise what it can do (and anyone not looking for this will get lost in the forest of D-Link product type codes).
As you can see in the photos: this unit is small. It looks amazingly tiny to pack so much power and has some conversation value once people understand what this little giant can do.
Even though I cannot always agree with D-Link quality and support and there are people rating it 1 because they cannot get it to work / connect I say that this is a 5 if you have a working unit and a bit of understanding of networking.
Most of the time, hate to say it, the problem with the low raters is PICNIC: Problem In Chair Not In Product.
Digital camera Review: Function packed in your pocket
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, although I haven't had it very long... I like this multipurpose item. Being quick small and powered over USB if you like is really nice. I mostly use it in hotel rooms that don't have wireless to so I can move anywhere in the room.
Make sure you update the firmware right away. You might also have to read the manual to figure out how the different functions work and how to connect to administer this thing. Basically each of the three fuctions act as a seperate device totally, so you have to make sure to set your admin passwords, features, etc. Over all I like it.
Digital camera Review: Garbage
Summary: 1 Stars
Like other reviews indicated, the unit cannot be setup. I tried multiple PC's in all different modes, none could aquire an IP address from this unit. I usually buy Linksys and setup is a breeze. Being in I.T. for many years I can usually workaround the most difficult setups...IF I could get to the setup! This thing is not worth the effort. I'll stick with Linksys. This is another D-Link failure.