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USRobotics Wireless MAXG ADSL Gateway
Price: £109.99 inc VAT

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 28/11/2005
Featured in magazine:
Issue 122
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: USRobotics
Tel: 0870 844 4546
Web Address: www.usr-emea.com


Purchasing a broadband modem/router is a hugely significant moment in your life. It signals that you've upgraded your internet connection to broadband; you've probably got more than one computer or a games console you want to connect to it; and you're about to embrace wireless networking (Wi-Fi) to eliminate the worm-like horror of wires in your home.

Features
This latest device from USRobotics has been dubbed 'Gateway' because it sits at your phone line and does all the clever business a wireless home network needs. It has four Ethernet ports for plugging in devices that are nearby, Wi-Fi for those in different rooms, a modem for controlling your broadband connection, and a print server for plugging in a USB printer.

The last two features mean you no longer need a specific computer to be switched on in order for other computers to connect to the net or print. It also embraces USRobotics' latest proprietary Wi-Fi technology, MAXg, which, when used in conjunction with other MAXg devices, promises a 50 per cent boost in range and a significant improvement in speed compared to standard 802.11g products.

Performance
Despite being compatible with the regular Wi-Fi standards (802.11b and 802.11g), we had to replace the networking adaptors in our test network with MAXg products to see the benefit. Once that was done, the results in our test environment, across three storeys of a house, showed there was significant improvement in speed, especially between the most distant devices, while the signal between them was also more powerful.

Ease of use
Installing wireless networks and making them secure has always been something of a nightmare, but Windows XP has gone a long way towards making it a coherent experience no matter what hardware you're using. Which is why we find it difficult to fathom why USRobotics ignores this option and continues to develop its own software. The benefit is that it's specific software to your product, and as such it offers more power and control over your settings, with security options close to hand. But the downside is that it's different to how other manufacturers do things (which adds to networking's general complexity) and it makes it more difficult to get support from third parties, such as your ISP, if things go wrong.

Value for money
There's a new Wi-Fi standard coming sometime next year (probably closer to the end than the beginning) called 802.11n, which will boost the speed of Wi-Fi connections again, with the added benefit that different manufacturers' models will work together – something that doesn't happen with the current crop of 802.11g speed-boosted technologies such as MAXg and its competitors. It's well priced though and, if you're starting a network from scratch, we would recommend you go for boosted technology like this.

If you're only thinking of upgrading bits, then this product will work with your current devices, but you'll only see its benefits when paired with other MAXg devices. Price wise, the Gateway is reasonably competitive, though you ccould probably find it cheaper if you shop around.

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