We sometimes get so caught up in the excitement of the next big thing we throw the baby out with the bathwater. Based on the performance of the Wi-Fire Wi-Fi adapter, that might just be the case with IEEE 802.11g wireless routers.

If you value range over throughput, this is the Wi-Fi adapter for you. This ungainly device doesn’t rely on MIMO or IEEE 8011.n, it doesn’t even require a PCMCIA slot. When we plugged it into the notebook USB 2.0 port, it delivered unbelievable range with a year-old Asus WL700gE router equipped with a single antenna.

Indoors, the Wi-Fire performed no better than Linksys WPC600N adapter, and no 802.11g router can match the maximum throughput of an 802.11n model. But the Wi-Fire lived up to its name when it moved the notebook outdoors, delivering TCP throughput of 15Mb/s.

The speed constantly as when moved the notebook ever further away, 350 feet from the router, with the signal passing through an insulated, double thick interior wall and a steel garage door, the Wi-Fire delivered TCP throughput of 14.5Mb/s. Maximum range dropped to 135 feet on the other side of the house, but throughput remained steady at 13.2Mb/s.

The antenna is extremely directional, which wouldn’t be a problem if it weren’t mounted so loosely to its plastic stand. You can set it on a tabletop or clip it to your notebook screen, but after you’ve painstakingly located the reception sweet spot, the simple act of breathing is enough to move it out of position.

Tags: Wi-Fi

Most current Mac models include an AirPort wireless card that supports the latest high speed 802.11n wireless format. However there are plenty of relatively recent Macs that shipped with older 802.11g card in them. You can upgrade your Mac’s wireless capabilities by installing Sonnet’s new Aria Extreme-n wireless card.

The Aria is the same size as Apple’s AirPort cards, so it can replace the AirPort card in most Mac models, such as the Mac mini or iMac. You’d need to be pretty brave to dismantle a Mini yourself, though, so the Aria is probably best suited to more upgradeable models such as the Mac Pro or MacBook Pro.

Tired of playing hide and seek with the Internet? Get the AT&T Laptop Connect Card and easily access the Internet at mobile broadband speeds when you’re out of the office, on the road, away from hotspots.

• Delivers mobile broadband speeds in more than 165 major U.S. markets and more cities worldwide than any other U.S. carrier.
• Send and receive email, download large attachments, and access corporate systems at mobile broadband speeds.
• Enables secure laptop connections to AT&T BroadbandConnect and EDGE networks.
• Fast and easy set up.

For more information, visit AT&T.

The Sierra Wireless AirCard 875 gives your laptop the ultimate in international connectivity: I got online in Spain at speeds over 300 kilobits per second, with peaks above 650 Kbps. It works also on Cingular’s HSDPA high-speed network here at home. Beware the monthly fees, though: An international, 100MB data plan costs $139.99 a month.

Don’t let your wireless network hold you back. D-Link’s High-Powered Wireless 108G Notebook Adapter (DWL-G680) offers superior bandwidth and consistent signal strength whether you’re on the road or in the office. When paired with other D-Link Wireless 108G devices, the Wireless 108G Notebook Adapter is capable of nearly twice the bandwidth of standard 802.11g adapters. And it’s backward compatible with other 802.11b/g access points, bridges, and adapters.

This AirPremier notebook adapter is no security slouch; it offers 64-bit and 128-bit WEP as well as Personal and Enterprise versions of WPA and WPA2 security. Network traffic is encrypted using the AES or TKIP protocols. Furthermore, the unit supports three EAP WLAN authentication protocols.

D-Link also ships the adapter with business class WLAN software that stores multiple SSID profiles to make accessing frequently used networks easy. The DWLG680 adapter can connect to other 802.11b/g wireless enabled computers, access points, and routers in both peer-to-peer (ad-hoc) mode and client (infrastructure) mode.

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The 1.3 by 3.0 inch Novatel Wireless V640, the first Express Card for the Verizon Wireless Broadband Access EV-DO network, performs on a par with much larger (2.1- by 3.4-inch) PC Card versions like the Editors’ Choice Kyocera KPC650. More important for many, it works in ExpressCard/34 slots such as those in new Apple, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo laptops. The card uses the same VZAccess Manager software as Verizon’s other EV-DO cards.

In an ASUS laptop, the V640 more than held its own against the KPC650 (installed in a Toshiba Qosmio) when the signal was moderate to strong. But for areas with a weak signal, you may want to pick up an external antenna. I was also easily able to install the V640 in a MacBook Pro after loading the drivers.

As the first EV-DO PC ExpressCard for laptops, the V640 represents a greatly needed upgrade option. Novatel Wireless is working to get the card out on Sprint. Dell sells an identical card, at the same price, for its laptops. But those who don’t own Dells can get online fast with the V640.

Based on Atheros Communications’s Xspan draft 802.11n technology, Belkin’s N1 Wireless Router and N1 Wireless Notebook Card are easily the most attractive of the gear. At the front of the glossy, black N1 Wireless Router is a series of glowing blue LED indicators that provide a clear and understandable view of the router’s connection status. The display indicates when wired and wireless clients are present, if wireless security is enabled, and whether the router can communicate with the Internet.

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