Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wired 11.05 UNWIRED: Power Tools

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Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 03:36:23 -0400

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.05/unwired/powertools.html

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Issue 11.05 UNWIRED -
A Wired Special Report - May 2003

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Power Tools

Gearing up for the wireless life.

By Neil McManus

54G ROUTERS

Morton Kettel

The future of Wi-Fi is 802.11g, five times faster and backward-compatible with 802.11b, the current standard. Caveats: Web surfing - bottlenecked by your Internet connection, not these routers - will seem as slow as ever, and the first batch of products will need upgrades once g gets ratified later this year. That said, gimme-gimme folks already have a raft of zippy routers to choose from.

Apple Airport Extreme Base Station

$199

www.apple.com

D-Link AirPlus Xtreme G DI-624 Wireless Router

$149

www.dlink.com

Linksys Wireless-G Router

$199

www.linksys.com

Belkin 54g Wireless Cable/DSL Gateway Router

$150

www.belkin.com

WIRELESS ETHERNET BRIDGES

Morton Kettel

One of the joys of online gaming is crushing opponents across the globe. Meanwhile, your Ethernet cable won't even let you across the room. Break loose with this bridge, which turns an Ethernet port into a Wi-Fi connection, making nearly any device - Xbox, PlayStation 2, laser printer, older PC - wireless ready.

Linksys WET11 Wireless Ethernet Bridge

$119

www.linksys.com

D-Link Air DWL-810

$129

www.dlink.com

POCKET PCs

Morton Kettel

The days of handhelds as glorified tip calculators are gone. The latest Pocket PCs are do-it-all marvels. The HP iPAQ h5455, for example, doesn't miss a bell or a whistle. Wi-Fi? Yep. Bluetooth? Roger. Biometric fingerprint reader? Sure, what they heck. Check your email when you're out and about. This pumped-up device can connect to the Net through a mobile phone or Wi-Fi hot spot.

HP iPAQ Pocket PC h5455

$699

www.hpshopping.com

Toshiba Pocket PC e740

$549

www.shoptoshiba.com

MEDIA RECEIVERS

Morton Kettel

Got a million MP3s but tired of burning CDs? Shoot your tunes to the stereo with a Wi-Fi media receiver. These machines come with remotes that let you choose songs and even playlists. Some handle more than music: The HP and Sony receivers grab photos from your PC and show them on your television screen. Sony's version, which works only with Vaio PCs and 802.11a networks, plays MPEG-2 video on your TV, too.

Sony RoomLink network media receiver PCNA-MR10

$200

www.sonystyle.com

HP Digital Media Receiver ew5000

$299

www.hpshopping.com

Motorola Simplefi Wireless Digital Audio Receiver

$379

www.motorola.com

Terra Player TR-100

$895

www.terraplayer.com

WIRELESS CAMS

Morton Kettel

Webcams are so '90s. Today exhibitionists use Wi-Fi cams with built-in Web servers that beam live, hi-res photos to the anonymous masses. The image quality is stunning, and the refresh rates approach full-motion video. Dubious? Feast your eyes on a state-of-the-art fishcam: ww.dlink.com/LiveDemo.

D-Link Air DCS-1000W

$329

www.dlink.com

Advantek Networks CAS-200W

$295

www.advanteknetworks.com

TABLET PCs

Morton Kettel

Make no mistake, tablet PCs are full-blown Windows XP computers. But as they trim down, they're becoming almost as easy to carry as PDAs. Consider the NEC Versa LitePad. At 2.2 pounds, this 0.6-inch-thick portable is compact enough to take anywhere. It has built-in 802.11a and b capability, so you can write that novel and surf the Web from any white sand beach.

NEC Versa LitePad

$2,399

www.necsolutions-am.com

Fujitsu Stylistic ST4110 Wireless LAN

$2,299

www.fujitsupc.com

WI-FI CARDs

Morton Kettel

Every expansion slot is precious in a PDA or notebook. If speed is your thing, shop for a new 802.11g card. Or, if you want both storage and connectivity, go with SanDisk's Connect. It uses flash memory to stow files in Pocket PCs and Windows notebooks, and links you up to Wi-Fi networks.

Sandisk 128 MB Connect Dual-Function Card

$130

www.sandisk.com

Linksys WPC 54G Wireless G PC Card

$70

www.linksys.com

VOICE OVER WI-FI

Morton Kettel

Clip one of these to your shirt and you can call a pal just by saying "Get me Jim." The sleek voice-activated badge uses Wi-Fi to link to a Vocera server, which connects you with another badge wearer, a cell user, or some poor schlub with a landline. This one-of-a-kind system is no toy: A network for 75 employees costs about $40,000 with PBX integration. So refrain from saying "Beam me up, Scotty!" unless you mean it.

Vocera Communications System

$27,000 and up

www.vocera.com

Bluetooth Devices

Like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth uses the 2.4-GHz band for data transfer. But its maximum range is 30 feet, limiting it to gadget-to-gadget communication. There are more than 1,000 Bluetooth products on the market, with 10 more introduced each week.

PRINT ADAPTERS

Morton Kettel

Carry one of these gizmos around and you can hijack any printer. Say you're in a client's office. Connect the adapter to the printer's parallel port, turn on your Bluetooth-enabled PDA or notebook, and - bam - you're printing up a storm.

Anycom PM-2002 Printer Module

$149

www.anycom.com

3Com Wireless Bluetooth Printing Kit

$219

www.3com.com

Troy Wireless WindConnect

$179

www.troygroup.com

GPS RECEIVERS

Morton Kettel

Lose the connector cables, not your way, when you hit the road. Socket's GPS receiver works quickly and cordlessly with laptops, tablets, and PDAs.

Socket Bluetooth GPS Receiver

$399

www.socketcom.com

HEADSETS

Morton Kettel

It's hard to look important while you're talking into a headset with that wire dangling in your face. Bluetooth headsets let you cut the cord and make calls even while your mobile is tucked away in your briefcase. But watch out: Some are so comfortable, you might forget to take it off.

Jabra Freespeak Bluetooth Headset

$99

www.jabra.com

Anycom Bluetooth WireFree Headset AHS-10

$79

www.anycom.com

Motorola Bluetooth Wireless Headset

$149

www.motorola.com

ACCESS POINTS

Morton Kettel

Power-efficient Bluetooth lets you link your devices to a network, and it won't eat up batteries as quickly as Wi-Fi. Caveat: The access point's price tag will chew through your wallet faster.

Pico PicoBlue Internet Access Point

$419

www.pico.net

Axis 9010 Bluetooth Access Point

$399

www.axis.com

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