Kensington WiFi Finder Plus review

So Kensington's original WiFi Finder didn't exactly do a very good of doing one thing it was designed to do—that is, detect WiFi—but a few months ago they hit back with the WiFi Finder Plus, an updated version that's able to detect 802.11g and Bluetooth signals in addition to regular old 802.11b. Julie over at The Gadgeteer got her hands on one and found that Kensington did finally get the WiFi detection part down, but they've still got a ways to go when it comes to picking up Bluetooth signals.

[Mike Sigers @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

Good to see someone else that has good info and reviews on the same toys that we love.

Keep up the good work,

Mike

[Nathan Eagle @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

I've been looking for a keychain device that does periodic Bluetooth scans to log the nearby devices. Anyone know how hackable these sniffers are? Or even what Bluetooth chipset they are using? The Kensington site doesn't supply much info. Guess it's worth 30 bucks to break it open and see for myself...

[Stu_Bee @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

What's the point in a Wifi sniffer if it can't distinguish between which are encrypted and which aren't.
A wifi app running on a PDA is still the more useful tool for identifying multiple wifi spots at the sametime, strength, history, encrypted/non, SSID, even GPS location (NetChaser for Palm)

[ssskssksks FU @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

yep this is useless, move along

[Jamaicanbwoydre @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

The PSP is the best wifi sniffer ever. Period. Signal Strength, Signal name, Encryption/No Encryption. It Slices, It Dices all for the LOW LOW price of $250. As A Bonus you get an Underclocked processor and if your REALLY lucky DEAD PIXELS ohh yeah!!!!!!

[Martey @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

#3, the Kensington WiFi finder costs approximately $30. Try getting a WiFi-enabled PDA for that price.

[Derrick @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

Well, they should diversify other than making their great laptop locks.

[Carl @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

*Still dreams of this;
http://wireless.engadget.com/entry/1234000930030600/


Note; I said DREAMS, I realize that probally wont make it to the market anytime soon in a useable fashion

[BenWang @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

Any mention of 802.11a detection?

[TheZodiac @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

I got this last christmas. Works well. Though, I know for a fact no one in the specified range has BT in my neighborhood. And no matter what time of the day I hit detect - BT shows up. I think its detecting 2.4GHz phones. Cute.

[TechGeek @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

Kensington's finder is still useless. Check out Canary Wireless http://www.canarywireless.com. Gives you the SSID, strength, channel and whether it is open or not. I just bought one and it is great.

[Jonathan Marks @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

the old one from Kensington was indeed rather useless...and it really needs to tell me if the network is encrypted or not. Otherwise, not worth me making the effort to buy a new one.

[gadgetman @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

this has to do with the archos, can you buy a av420 from the states and use it in europe?
record and so forth... help me, please

[singh @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

I am a t-mobile customer and want a PDA that has a sim card slot so that it is compatable with t-mobile. But i also want the PDA to have a wireless network card so that it can detect any wireless networks around me becuase i have one in my house and in school. I dont want hot spots.

What PDA should i look at?
i dont want or need to buy internet if it has it

[Jonathan Marks @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

yes gadgetman, archos works perfectly in Europe. PAL/NTSC no problem.

[finland @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

awesome! Thanks

[MrWhoohoo @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

The supposed Bluetooth detection is BS: it only detects where there is an active BT connection - you can shove a discoverable device under its nose and it won't tell you about it. It is also confused by cordless phones and reports presence of a BT network. Its still just a wifi detector.