Product Reviews

Although most routers use the same wireless chips, there's a huge difference in way they work and are managed. On the outside Trendnet's 54Mbps ADSL Modem Router looks like any other: it has a four-port switch, a built-in ADSL modem and 54Mbit/s WiFi. As soon as you start using it, though, you'll realise that it doesn't come close to the competition.

For starters, the web-based management isn't friendly. It's basic to look at and the Setup Wizard throws lots of confusing options at you, including some DSL settings that you shouldn't have to know or worry about. It ends with a fairly helpful internet

ADVERTISEMENT

test, though, which confirms that you are online and that your internet connection is working.

The wizard doesn't cover wireless settings, leaving you with the default service set identifier (SSID) network name (actually called 'default') and no security. It also sets the wireless channel to 10, which is one of the worst choices. Only channels 1, 6 and 11 are free from crossover interference, and these are the only sensible choices. Security is left off by default and there's no WPA-PSK support, so you're stuck with the older WEP encryption.

A lot of this could be forgiven if performance was top notch, but it wasn't. As it's a standard 54Mbit/s router, we tested it using a Centrino notebook. At close range the router struggled and we managed only 5.5Mbit/s, which is way off the pace of other 802.11g devices. Moving 10m away yielded better results and a speed of 10.89Mbit/s. We couldn't get a signal further away than this, though.

The 54Mbps ADSL Modem Router is not particularly expensive but it's not particularly good, either. The poor default settings, lack of WPA-PSK support and slow performance are all disappointing. There are much better products for the money.