Introduction

As more and more people design wireless home networks, the question becomes one of what to do with your older wireless and wired systems. This has become even more prominent with the increase in the number of inexpensive 300Mbps N specification routers and access points available. Newer laptops and netbooks do come with N wireless cards, but many devices that are less than a year old do not. Well, TRENDnet has an answer for you in the form of its TEW-645UB High Power Wireless N USB adapter.

The TEW-645UB boasts up to twice the range of traditional N USB adapters; with up to eight times the range of standard g adapters. Speed is also a feature of the TEW-645UB with maximum theoretical speeds of up to 300Mbps.

Looking at the packaging, we see the TEW-645UB has some great specifications listed. It covers all of the wireless specifications, including N 2.0. It also has a more powerful antenna over many other adapters in its class and price range. You can currently purchase the TEW-645UB from Newegg at 39.99 U.S. Dollars; a respectable price point for a Wireless N adapter. With 3dBi, it supports a very wide range of encryption including WPA2 (TKIP and AES) and there is driver support for both Windowx XP 32-bit and Vista x86 / x64. XP x64 is not listed as being supported out of the box, but may still work with the Vista driver.

Will the TEW-645UB be able to deliver on its promises? - It looks great on paper, but let's see if it can perform in the real world.