Lotus Geek :: Quick Review: D-Link DWL-G730AP

Category Kewl Stuff
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When on my trip to Las Vegas we had two laptops going in the hotel room at any one time - my new IBM Thinkpad T41p, and my old trusty Sony laptop that I used with my old company. I brought the second laptop so that my eldest daughter, Kris, would not go through complete withdrawals from IM while we are on the trip. Since we were using two computers in the same room, I decided to take Andrew's advice and get the D-Link High-speed Pocket Router (DWL-G730AP).

Little Package, Big Features
What a great little router! This is a great combination of features, form factor, and price. The router comes packaged in a little carrying case that easily fits into your computer bag. Inside the case is the router itself, which is not much larger than a box of matches; a small power block, which is 120/240v; a USB cable that can be used to power the router if regular power is unavailable; and a small ribbon-style ethernet cable.

The router itself can be configured to work in one of three ways:

as a Wireless Client, for those hotel setups that don't like routers to be connected
as a Wireless Access Point, for rooms with one ethernet port but where multiple computers are allowed to connect from a room
as a Wireless Router, where you can appear to be one connection to the hotel network but have multiple connections in the room

There is a switch on the bottom of the pocket router that allows you to set what mode it operates in. I found that the router mode is the one I use most often, but I have had experiences in the past where one of the other two modes would have come in handy as well.

The router is easy to set up, and provides a configuration wizard (accessible through a browser) for each of the three modes. The router provides the standard NAT firewall, and also supports WEP and WPA encryption.

I found the coverage to be quite good, especially for such a small package. Plus, it is designed to be used in a hotel room, so it doesn't really have to be that strong - but it easily covered a large (really large - over 2000 sq ft) suite I had in Las Vegas, and worked great.

Conclusion
I highly recommend this router for anyone out there who travels and wants to have a wireless router/firewall to take on the road. I had been lugging a full-size Linksys router with me, but those days are long gone thanks to this great little package.

I bought mine at Best Buy for around $70. When I bought mine I found I was eligible for two mail-in rebates totalling $50, so I should wind up getting it for about $20. However, this router is definitely worth the $70, even without the rebates.

Rock
**Don't skinny dip with snapping turtles.

Comments

1 - 2000 Sq ft??? Wow, how about some pictures???

Posted by Keith Strickland At 10:13:37 PM On 08/08/2005 | - Website - |

2 - 2000 sq ft suite in Las Vegas?

(note to self: negotiate price on all future purchases from Advisor publications. :)

Posted by Tim Brown At 09:37:17 AM On 08/05/2005 | - Website - |

3 - Hmm, me thinks you posted this to gloat about the fact that you now have a T-41P with all the bells and whistles.

Posted by Christopher Byrne At 04:58:05 PM On 08/04/2005 | - Website - |

4 - Sorry, I didn't take pics.

Yeah, the Advisor folks love me, and occasion I get to reap the benefits of that.

In this case they had the room comp'ed to them for the show, and they knew that I was bringing my daughters so they were extremely kind enough this time to give me that room for my girls and myself. It was amazingly generous of them, and I am very appreciative.

And yeah, that room was ENORMOUS. The master bath was bigger than my master bedroom at home.

So, this was a one-time deal, and I really am appreciative to Advisor for taking such good care of me and my family. Advisor ROCKS