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Thomson Multimedia SpeedTouch 330
Price: £80

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 03/10/2003
Featured in magazine:
Issue 49, page 50
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: Thomson
Tel: 01295 222170
Web Address: www.speedtouch.co.uk


This ADSL modem is a successor to the Alcatel 'stingray' (or 'squashed frog' depending on your outlook) that came with many early broadband connections. With this unit, however, the marine-blue look has been replaced by sleek metallic burgundy – it's a nice shape, but the colour is unlikely to harmonise with any other gadgets hanging around your computer.

The unit itself has two lights – one to confirm the USB connection and the other for the ADSL. If both lights are out, you can probably draw your own conclusions – your internet connection will not be functioning. It comes with everything you need including cabling and two filters for your standard phones.

Installation is a simple process, though this has encouraged the manufacturers to resort to a very simple printed manual that doesn't quite supply enough information. There's a more thorough version on the CD as an Adobe Acrobat file but you'll have to hunt this down, as there are no external pointers to guide you.

Once you're up and running, the diagnostic software is excellent and starts up with a graphical representation of what's going on. Delve deeper and you get all the information that a helpline should need to troubleshoot any problems.

If you're running a Mac, all the drivers and software you need are included, so this modem should be the device of choice if you're using an Apple computer.

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