Networking Reviews

I bought the ambicom usb adapter to transfer my pictures from my nokia 3650 cellphone. I installed it on my older pc that had windows 2000 and it works nomally on the "Bluetooth Neigbohood" software i can transfer midi files and pictures easily, but when i installed my phone's PC Suite software it couldnt detect the bluetooth connection and i cant sync my phone at all. I can only transfer files back a forth by the provided software but it does not get detected by my phone's sync software. I also tried to install it on my XP (home edition) laptop but i doesnt work at all. There is no bluetooth connecition at all and i have installed everything the way it should be. I dont think its compatible on XP at all.

This adapter works very well compared to the Sony bluetooth adapter I tried (and returned). The Ambicom has good compatability between brands, and the software enables you to link easily with different services. There is even an option in the software to set up an ActiveSync connection, and a proxy internet connection for your PPC. Now my ipaq and vaio can sync easily without wires, using ActiveSync. In the setup, getting the COMport numbers correct can be a bit tricky -- it's important to pay attention to the steps in installation, and to consult your PDA manual. Also, I find I need to connect to ActiveSync (on the ipaq) through the bluetooth manager, which is easy, no problem. Once it's set up, it connects perfectly every time. A relief, after struggling with the Sony adapter and software -- and the Ambicom is half the price -- so I give this one 5 stars.

Having read some of the reviews for other Bluetooth adapters out there, I was a bit reluctant to get a product from a relatively unknown maker. I'm glad I gave it a chance!

I installed it on my home XP Pro (SP1) system on a USB 1.1 (powered) hub! It installed in minutes, and a couple of clicks after that, I was synchronizing my iPAQ 2215 via a bluetooth connection.

This item comes with short USB extension cable. I won't use it since I think it's safer to have the adapter securely plugged into my hub, but I do understand why some people may find it helpful. The adapter itself is very compact, and it doesn't take up more than its share of space on my hub, thus allowing me to use all the plugs next to it.

There are two versions of the latest software for this model, depending on your unit's serial number... Make sure to select the correct one if you download the latest drivers.

There isn't anything special about the design or looks of this small adapter, but so far it's worked perfectly for me. I don't know the exact distances but I've been able to connect my PDA from anywhere in my apartment.

I hope you have a similar experience to mine!

This is a terrible hub. Your PC hangs all the time. Save your money and get something better like Entegra or whatever. This one is no good.

This is identical to the Belkin ExpressBus product. They are even in the same plastic case. It has worked perfect for me!

This product works great and as stated. It handles all the devices I have hooked up to it, and I have ZERO problems! Kudos. Great price too!

I have bought this card together with the 11g wireless router (3crwe554g72). The combo is great as long as you use WEP or non encrypted.

When ever I use WPA, the connection establishes, works for an hour or so and then drops for 5-10 minutes. I need to reassociate with the router again. Sometimes I need to pull out the card and even (rarely) restart the router.

This WPA problem may be related to the router (supports WPA), the card (supports WPA ONLY trough the OS), or the OS-drivers them selfs (Win XP PRO). However it seems, that some products do not have this issue under Win XP, so this indicates that the problem is either the router or the card.

When the WPA issue will be resolved by for instance a firmware upgrade, I will give this product 5 stars.

Please note: alla the newest (/6 april 2004) relevant updates for Win XP, the newst drivers for the card and the newest firwares updates for the router was installed!

As you can tell with my review of the 11g base, I'm completely sold on this 3com configuration. I've used this card in my laptop, and it's been smooth as butter, plugging in, pulling the card, going on standby, roving to other rooms, firing it back up, it's solid.

CD installation of the software was the only minor trouble spot... and it's simple... the Windows plug-and-play hardware wizard will ask you for folder locations of drivers (the folder it tries to look in by default doesn't have the drivers... they're in sub-folders)... you may have to open up a Windows Explorer window, and look thru a few folders on the CD to find the right file, then copy the folder location to the wizard. Took only an extra minute. And it might have been because I'm using Win98.

After installation (which was still incredibly easy, compared to any other hardware install), the thing has been perfect. If it ever glitches or causes me a headache, I'll come back and amend this review pronto, promise. Also, don't forget to check the 3com website to get rebate money back.

This is a great unit and I am very happy with it, although its operation is not flawless (I think largely due to Microsoft bugs).

With my Windows 2000 computers, it works almost flawlessly. When I switch to the computer, it takes about 5-10 seconds to recognize that the USB connection is now active, and I have had absolutely no problems with it.

When I first tried using it with Windows XP, the XP computer would not recogize the keyboard or mouse when I switched back if the computer was allowed to go into stand-by mode (which I often use). After a lot of tweaking, I discovered that if you find the mouse driver, click on the "Power settings", and disable the button that allows the mouse to wake up the computer from stand-by, then the problem went away.

Now, the unit is working almost flawlessly. However, about once a week or so, the stupid XP computer still seems to have problems recognizing the mouse. When this happens, there seems to be nothing I can do to get it to accept the mouse and keyboard. At this point, the only thing I can do is plug in a second mouse into a spare USB port, shut down the computer, and reboot. Somewhat inconvenient, but it doesn't happen too often.

Works just as expected. Switches quickly among two desktop machines and a laptop (all running WinXP). Each machine takes < 1 min to recognize, same as when plugging in any new USB device. Very durable cables. Was concerned about using wireless keyboard/mouse, but works great with the Microsoft Wireless Desktop, including the multimedia function keys. Version of the switch that I received is black, not white as pictured.

I purchased this because I needed more ports, as I plan to get onto DSL next month. The color does match my iMac very well. I had been using an Aten hub that is self powered,(no electrical plugin needed) so was surprised 1. at the size (quite large), and 2. at the need to be plugged in. Otherwise it was easy to hook up and start using it.

Perfect for any one with more than one USB item. Connection is as easy as plugging in the AC cord and connecting it to the computer USB port. No software installation required. The silver color of the hub isn't a perfect match to the graphite color of the G4; however, it is close enough of a match to not worry about. Aside from the minor color issue, the only negative comment I have is that the included USB A/USB B cable is only 3 feet long. This means that you practically have to keep the hub on top of the computer. I would have given this 5 stars if it had a 6 foot long USB A/USB B cable.

I bought mine wireless wl400-rap for countem $30.00 brand new.
What did you buy yours for ha ha ha.

I bought this with the wireless PC card and USB wireless , all by Bestdata. Was a little skeptic since it was no name brand but the price was so good that I decided to go for it. Installation was a breeze no effort at all.I have enabled WEP encryption and use other cool features like MAC Access control settings and works perfectly. The packaging was realy shoddy and I was very discouraged but guess thats how they are saving money, also for some reason once in a while the router needs a reboot, I suspect it is not able to refresh the Dynamic IP from my ISP. Apart from this never had a problem.
Can't beat the price, its terrific.

Haven't had a problem with the unit, however had problems installing the software. That didn't matter though, since I just used Microsoft ICS that comes with Windows 2k. 1Mbit/s is kinda slow, but for internet sharing and file, it's very sufficient. I can live without it (since I'm using my cable modem), but I'm sure my roommate can't!! She connects to the internet using my machine and the diamond homefree. Note that you need at least two to talk.

I found that this product made networking between 2 computers very easy. I set up and had the network running in less than 30 minutes from the time I opened the box. This is a great product but my only complaint is the speed. I wish it were 10 mbps, which this one is only 1.

Pros:
* The Windows drivers installed easily and appeared to work well.
* used on Win2k and Win98 systems
* signal reception is good

Cons:
* Can't use WEP encryption if router/wireless hub has a Cisco chipset (Linksys, SMC, etc. rely on Cisco hardware).
* Unable to find drivers for Linux

I bought this item because of the price - but it turned out to be perfect for my setup. I wanted to allow my Tivo 2 to get on my LAN. Previously I bought one of the tiny LinkSys wireless adapters - it worked and was recognized - but I could never get more than 38% out of it (guessing becasue the Tivo is nearly on the floor in a TV stand). The Hawking comes with a extra-long USB cord which allows me to set the device on top of my TV instead of behind the Tivo - now I get over 60% signal!

If you are looking for a cheap wirless USB (esp for Tivo) get this one.

I highly recommend this product, which can be used with their other NetGear connectivity products (PCI cards, etc) as well as Centrino-based laptops seamlessly.
Everything works right out of the box, first time!

Works very well.
Although it's a little slow for intranet transfers.
I use it with long (152 and 128 bit) WEP keys and maybe
that explains why local transfers are a bit slow.
SSID broadcasting can be turned off for both the A and G
APs which is a very desirable.
The radio signal is strong unlike other APs I've used before.
Highly recommended.

I'm not sure what the other reviewers are basing their comments on, I found that I can use AP's that nobody else can even see with their cards. It's a bit pricey, but if you need range then this is the card to get.

Range is not significantly better than my previous Linksys USB Wireless - speed is somewhat faster. The range is certainly not over 10 times other systems (don't believe the fantastic claims in the ads).