Solwise SAR-600EW

Almost all of our modem or routers connect to your PC via a network port, which can be a problem if you don’t have one. That’s not an issue if you opt for the SAR-600EW, though, as it enables you to connect via USB instead. It wouldn’t be our first choice (USB devices are likely to be more CPU-intensive and thus less reliable), but it’s worth a try if you’re short on other options.

One difficulty of having two interfaces is that it lengthens the setup process a little, at least for experienced users. You can’t simply plug in the SAR-600EW, reboot and connect to it from a browser, say. Instead, you must run an installation program first, choose how you’re connecting to your PC and the Web and follow the steps that it presents. If you’re a complete network and PC novice, though, the setup program proves to be useful guide on what to do.

All this hand-holding early on is great, but unfortunately it disappears entirely if you want to do anything clever. Click Advanced and you’re presented with a mass of more technical options, with no Help icon to tell you more. The manual’s not always helpful, either (for example, it says that ‘IP filter is identical to what Port Blocking to Access Control’), and overall it can’t match the best of the competition. There’s nothing wrong with the SAR-600EW’s wireless performance. Add the ADSL2+ support and this could still be a good buy.

Website : www.Solwise.com