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The best Wi-Fi Range extender
By David Murphy This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. After spending 140 total hours researching Wi-Fi extenders and testing more than 20, we recommend the TP-Link AC1750 Wi-Fi Range Extender RE450 for most people who need to boost their Wi-Fi signal to part of a house or apartment. Though the RE450 costs around $100 at this writing, it's worth that price, as it offers the best combination of range, speed, portability, and physical connections of any extender we tested.
The best Wi-Fi extender (for most people)
This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a list of the best technology to buy. Read the full article here. We spent a total of 110 hours researching 25 different Wi-Fi extenders (and testing 10 of them), and the $100 Netgear EX6200 is the one we recommend for most people right now. It costs as much as a great router—but it has the best combination of range, speed, flexibility, and physical connections of any extender we tested.
Satechi makes world travel easier with Smart Travel Router and Adapter
As a bona fide world traveler (yeah, I know -- only 50 countries so far), I love to see new products that make life easier for gadget-toting travelers. Now Satechi has come out with a multi-tasker that should find its way into a lot of gizmo bags. The Smart Travel Router and Adapter (US$44.99 introductory price) is a mashup of that staple of international travel -- the plug adapter -- and a WiFi router. The charger / adapter works in more than 150 countries. It's a plug adapter, so there's no voltage / frequency conversion, but most modern electronics chargers work equally well on 220V / 50Hz and 120V / 60Hz systems. This gives you one AC power port and a 2.1A USB port that can be used simultaneously to charge a couple of devices. The travel router is really useful, creating an IEEE 802.11b/g/n wireless network from an Ethernet connection. There are four router modes available, allowing everything from traditional secure router functions to acting as a network extender. The Smart Travel Router and Adapter is available for purchase from Satechi's website and Amazon.
Samsung SE-208BW SmartHub packs DVD writer, we ask why then take it for a spin (video)
Is there any better way to ring in 2012 than to drop 129 bills on a shiny new wireless-enabled DVD burner? Absolutely. But if your New Year's resolution includes archiving smartphone pics to optical media and steaming DVD flicks over WiFi, Samsung is prepared to make those nostalgic dreams a reality, with its SE-208BW SmartHub. The premise here is quite familiar -- little black box takes content from an attached storage device and streams it to connected devices over WiFi, or over the Web. Samsung's twist on the traditional model brings optical media into the equation, however, with a CD/DVD burner enabling music and movie playback, along with remote file archival. You'll need to wait until late January (or perhaps early February) before introducing Samsung's shiny streamer to your wired or wireless network, but we got an early look at the new DLNA-enabled gadget today. If you've used an external DVD burner made in the last decade, you're already familiar with the form-factor employed here -- there's a slim disk tray up front, with full-size and mini USB connectors, Ethernet and a DC input on the rear. This is strictly a streaming device, so there's no HDMI or other AV connectivity -- you'll need to use an Android, iOS or smart TV app, along with Samsung AllShare or an FTP client to access content. We tried steaming 720p video and a few photos using the Android app and the AllShare application included with most recent Samsung devices, and everything worked as expected, with content loading quickly without any hiccups. You can access files on a connected HDD or USB flash drive remotely from the built-in FTP server, but you'll need to use Samsung's apps to stream DVDs and music CDs from that built-in optical drive, or to burn smartphone pics or other remote files to a blank disc. You can view content directly on your smartphone or tablet, or on a connected TV, using the former device to control playback. The hub also serves as an internet bridge, so you won't lose web access when connected directly over WiFi. There's nothing groundbreaking here, unless the absence of an optical drive has been keeping you from adding such a device to your collection, but jump past the break to see it in action.%Gallery-141063%
Amped Wireless gives your WiFi 1.5-mile range: never lose signal in the garden again
Those of us stationed inside the Engadget compound are always wishing we had better WiFi signal at the outer reaches of the battlements. Thank heavens for Amped Wireless' range of professional networking tools. With a 600mW amplifier and a high-gain bi-directional antenna, its SR600EX Pro Smart Repeater can expand the range of your internet transmissions by up to 1.5 miles. The device also has two extra network ports for other devices and is designed for large buildings, boats, RVs or, you know... massive gadget labs. On the other hand, the AP600EX Pro Access Point can sit on the end of a wired network and do the same job for building-to-building connections. Both devices come with a 30-foot power-over-ethernet cable and are available today for $180.
Samsung outs new Blu-ray and media hub drives: dammit, the ODD still lives
You've seen our musings on the continued relevance of optical drives and it seems Samsung agrees entirely: it's just announced two external spinners to keep pace with our "evolving mobile entertainment demands." Er, great Sammy, but how? First off, there's the USB-powered SE-506AB Blu-ray writer depicted above, which will give that awful Pacific boxset one last chance on your ODD-neutered Mac or netbook. But that's not nearly as interesting as the SE-208BW CD/DVD writer, which doubles as a WiFi media hub to stream music and movies to your smartphone, tablet or PC. It works the other way round too: letting you backup content from your mobile device direct to a disc. It even supports Dynamic DNS and can cooperate with a flash drive or HDD to become a "personal cloud server." Still not impressed? This wonder drive additionally functions as a WiFi extender, or it can create an access point from scratch when cabled up to your network. Man, that's ODD OD. The media hub will arrive at the beginning of 2012, while the new Blu-ray drive should be out any time now. No word on pricing, but check out the PR double-shot after the break for the full specs.
D-Link's Amplifi networking suite keeps the whole mansion connected
Between our TVs, PCs, game consoles, and even refrigerators, most every room of our homes have devices needing an on-ramp to the information superhighway. To keep these gadgets connected, D-Link has debuted its Amplifi home networking equipment to bathe every square foot of your abode in ample bandwidth. There's the $150 HD Media Router 1000 that does 802.11n WiFi at 300 Mbps and has QoS technology to make sure your HD video streams and games are lag-free, plus four Gigabit Ethernet ports and an SD card reader. The Whole Home Router 1000 is $120 and sports similar specs sans the SD slot, but also packs D-Link's SmartBeam technology that tracks devices and "focuses beams of bandwidth" to keep you connected in every room. D-Link's $160 WiFi Booster also uses SmartBeam tech to extend your network's range via the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands and put four more Gigabit Ethernet ports anywhere you choose. Lastly, the Powerline AV 500 Adapter ($100) and Gigabit switch ($200) give you screaming 500Mbps speeds from any electrical outlet. Interested? Well, they're all available now, except for the laggard Whole Home Router 1000, which isn't available until August. PR's after the break.
BearExtender PC review
Signal. You can never get enough signal. Got full bars on your laptop? Something will come up, cause you to move, and then you'll be down to three, and then two, and before you know it your downloads will be failing and you'll be holding your device up and waving it around, hoping the fickle gods Micro and Wave will smile upon your plaintive dance while everyone else in the coffee shop sneers over mochas. You could avoid this scene with a BearExtender PC, a $45 device that will give you signal enough to curse them all and work out on the patio if you feel like it. Read on to see if it's worth it. %Gallery-110290%
BearExtender n3 grabs WiFi from afar
We've seen a few WiFi extenders in our day, but the BearExtender n3 has a few critical advantages over the rest: it's cheap, effective, and, uh, legal. The $45 external WiFi adapter for Macs was developed by Roland Saekow, a Berkeley grad who wanted access to the campus "Airbears" network from wherever he was -- and it seems to do the trick, as TUAW's informal testing revealed stronger signals and higher throughput when using the BearExtender over internal WiFI. Sure, it's a little bulky, but that just makes you look hardcore, right?
hField intros Vista-compatible Wi-Fire long-range WiFi adapter
It looks like Vista users jealous of their Mac and XP-based pals and their 1,000-foot range WiFire adapters can now finally get a range-extending fix of their own, as hField has just announced a Vista-friendly version of the device. What's more, the Wi-Fire is also now considerably cheaper than it was when it was first released last year, with it now setting you back just $79. It also now comes with some updated software for both XP and Vista, but otherwise appears to be the same 3 x 4 inch device as before, including support for 802.11b/g networks only and, of course, that aforementioned 1,000 foot range.
