Package and Contents

I think that TRENDnet does a great job on the packaging for their products. You are not getting the heavy amounts of hard sell like you do on a typical graphics card or motherboard. Instead, you get a fairly clean box with a few graphs and claims, a good image of the product and a clear indication of what you are buying.

The back of the box is also well laid out with a good diagram depicting where the TEW-653AP fits into your home network. I do have to say that I find the "related products" listing a little funny, but I suppose it does serve a purpose.

Inside the box you will find almost everything you need to get the TEW-653AP installed and working. The reason I say "almost" is that if you are going for a real PoE installation then the likely hood is that you are going to run some CAT5 (or CAT6) cable quite a way through the attic. In the box you only get a single 3-foot cable. That length is not going to get you very far at all. Fortunately I have a nice 1000-foot spool of CAT 5e cable in the lab, so I was good to go on getting this setup properly.

One more thing to note; the provided power block and cord is rather short. We found that you could not wall or ceiling-mount this if you chose to use this power block (and you have the standard wall outlets). This might not be the case in all homes or offices (I have two ceiling mounted outlets in the garage), but it is something to be aware of.

The CD-ROM included contains a full user's manual and product registration information, but not much else of interest.