Some products are easy to review, and you know almost immediately whether they’ll be good or bad. This one is less straightforward. Take the physical design, for instance. It’s bulky so there’s no wall-mount option, and the all-black design won’t blend in with most PCs. Yet on the other hand it conveniently has two detachable antenna, and the rare inclusion of a power switch is welcome, too. Then there’s the documentation. It looks impressive at first – a full printed book – but only 16 pages are in English.

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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.

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This Netgear router is compact enough to fit anywhere and the silver-white colour scheme means it should find a home in the most style-conscious of living rooms. There’s intelligent design beneath the looks, too. Clip-on plastic feet are provided if you’d prefer to save space and mount the modem vertically. The single adjustable antenna is removable and uses a standard SMA connection, so it’s easy to install another. Furthermore, default settings such as its IP address, user name and password are printed on the base of the unit – handy if you’ve a tendency to lose manuals.

Netgear also appears to be just about the only company around which understands that a Setup Wizard is supposed to be helpful, not just ask for cryptic settings over a series of pages. When configuring ADSL it provides an option to automatically detect your settings.

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Whether you’re a networking expert or not, it helps to have clear guidance when you’re setting up a new modem or router. Linksys had provided a cluttered configuration screen but no Setup Wizard for the Wireless-G ADSL Gateway. Unlike most of the competition, Linksys has printed a Quick Install sheet specifically for users. That means there’s no need to ask your ISP what you should put for Encapsulation, VPI, VCI and so on, because you’re told everything you need to know. Perhaps ‘everything’ is a mild exaggeration, but there’s more help to be found. Every browser-based setup screen has a ‘More…’ link that displays comprehensive guidance on the options you’ve got available.

They’re an impressive set of options, including SNMP, UPnP, port forwarding (single or a range), port triggering and QoS. Furthermore, unexpected bonus features include a Dynamic Domain Name System (which works with www.dyndns.com to assign a fixed host and domain name to a dynamic IP address), Internet content filters (block cookies, Java applets, Activex) and multiple Internet access policies (block access at particular times of day, by specific URLs, keywords and more.

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What is this? Could Billion actually be a company that understands what we expect from a wireless modem/router? It looks that way from the physical design. There’s a large swivel detachable antenna. A couple of slots make wall mounting possible, and the LEDs are clearly visible in either orientation. There’s also a power switch to easily turn the device off.

Initial setup is via the browser, as explained by the competent documentation. Billion has tried to simplify the process with an ‘Auto Scan’ option to automatically detect the ADSL settings. No real problem, as a couple of photocopied pages explained how to get it working. Move beyond the basic setup options and you’ll find an enormous range of features on offer. Good news for techies, but perhaps a little intimidating for everyone else, especially as there are no Help links to explain the significance of each step. This is a problem, as the default settings aren’t always wisely chosen.

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Belkin’s contribution to the wireless router world is larger than most. It’s a chunky, silverblack plastic brick. The device is still a better choice for wall mounting than the 3Com OfficeConnect: cables plug into the bottom of the unit and an angled display face means that the LEDs are still visible from a distance. There are two antenna, which swivel around in all directions to help you receive the best possible signal, but they’re not detachable. This means that you can’t easily replace them if you’d like something better.

Belkin has followed the 3Com installation plan, limiting your printed documentation to a single quick installation sheet. Yet as before, if you’re a newcomer to networking then you’re going to need a little more help or maybe a lot. Fortunately, there’s a 94-page PDF manual provided on the CD with more in-depth advice, although beginners may still need help from their ISP to set up the ADSL connection properly.

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Style isn’t normally a word you’d associate with ADSL modems or routers, but 3Com has made more of an effort than most with the OfficeConnect. The slim lines, smoothly curved top and fluted edges help ensure that it’ll fit comfortably into the most image-conscious of offices. Build quality is good, too. The OfficeConnect may look like just another beige box in the photo, but in person it feels solid and ready to withstand whatever bumps and drops it might face.

The end result is a product that looks good enough to sit on top of your tower system, or that you can leave on a shelf somewhere. The alternative is to mount it on the wall, which may result in a better signal, although this does mean that you won’t easily be able to see the LEDs (and the cables must be attached from the top).

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