Product Reviews

D-Link's Rangebooster 1353 might look like a normal wireless router, but it's a Draft-N 2.0 wireless access point.

You can put it to various uses, depending on your needs. You can use it as a simple access point, connecting it to an existing wired router or switch to add Draft-N wireless capabilities to your network. Alternatively, it can act as a WDS bridge, so you can create building-to-building networks. A combination of the two modes allows wireless devices to connect to the WDS link, while a fourth mode allows it to act as a wireless

ADVERTISEMENT

repeater to boost the range of your wireless network.

The 1353 is also backward-compatible with 802.11b/g devices and operates a 'good neighbour' policy, where it tries to create as little interference as possible for other 802.11g networks in the area.

Installation is as simple as we've come to expect from D-Link. A wizard takes you through configuring the SSID, password and the type of encryption you want. It supports WEP, WPA and WPA2 security.

We tested the 1353 with our Centrino notebook first. Throughput was average at 1m and 10m, but it managed 9.86Mbit/s at 25m, showing excellent signal coverage. It managed to retain a connection with D-Link's own USB adaptor up to around 30m, providing a transfer rate of 2Mbit/s. Things dramatically improved at our very far range of 25m, with a rate of 11.75Mbit/s, which is more than fast enough for standard definition video.

If you need to extend your wireless coverage, D-Link's Rangebooster 1353 may sound expensive at £88, but it's a cheaper alternative to Devolo's Wireless Extender kit, which provides only 802.11g speeds and costs around £20 more.