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Wireless network boxes are, for the most part, pretty much the same these days.
They’re all roughly the same price, and the latest models all use the high-speed draft-n technology (also known as 802.11n) for transmitting data across the network.
The main difference between routers from different manufacturers tends to lie in how easy they are to use, which of course is vitally important to home and small business users who may not have very much experience of setting up such a network.
We were intrigued, then, by Buffalo’s new Wireless-N Nfiniti router (which is £86) and separate notebook adaptor (which costs £55, but you can also buy USB network adapters for desktop computers for the same price).
These both boast a feature called AOSS - AirStation One-Touch Secure System. Somewhat confusingly, the ‘AirStation’ bit refers to an older range of Buffalo routers, but it’s the one-touch bit we were really interested in, as Buffalo claims that this allows users to create a wireless network with the press of a single button.
Most routers require the user to enter passwords and configure various security settings in order to prevent other people from gaining access to the network without the network owner's permission. However, Buffalo says that AOSS will connect the router and notebook adaptor automatically and configure all the required security settings without you having to do anything.
It’s a nice idea, but we couldn’t get it to work. We installed the router and notebook adaptor following the instructions in their respective manuals, along with the Air Navigator software supplied on a CD. We pressed the AOSS button on the router as directed, and the software on the notebook was able to scan the area, at which point it found the router. For some reason, though, the software was unable to actually establish a link between the notebook and the router, so we weren’t able to create a wireless network using the button.
In the end, we were forced to follow the alternative instructions, also detailed in the manual, which involved connecting the notebook to the router using a standard network cable. That did mean we were able to configure the router properly and then start the wireless network. However, not all home users will be sufficiently familiar with networking technology to do this for themselves - and, of course, it means that the ‘one-touch’ AOSS system didn’t really live up to Buffalo’s claims.
To be fair, the Nfiniti router and notebook adaptor did both work perfectly well once we had them set up properly. But it was a bit of struggle getting there, and Buffalo could still do more to simplify the installation and setup process for less experienced users.
Vista compatible: Yes
See also:
Draft-N router with four Gigabit Lan ports 18 Apr 2007
All RoutersTags: Networking
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