Monday 21 March 2016

HooToo Tripmate

HooToo Tripmate

HooToo isn’t exactly the first name that springs to mind when you think about networking technology – or anything else for that matter. However, the company does produce some interesting looking travel routers, of which is the TripMate.

The HooToo TripMate wireless travel router is a solid black device measuring 96 x 44 xx 28mm, with a 10/100Mbps Ethernet port on one side of its rounded body and a full-sized USB 2.0 port on the other. To one side, there’s a micro-USB port for power and on top you’ll find a power button surrounded by a set of LEDs indicating power and connection status.

TP-Link TL-MR3040

TP-Link TL-MR3040

TP-Link’s contribution comes in the form of the TL-MR3040. This sleek-looking device has a number of interesting aspects to its credit such as a 200mAh rechargeable battery and a number of modes including support for 4G networks.

The TL-MR3040 measures 100 x 62 x 16mm and weighs just 94g. Its curvaceous lines house a 10/100Mbps Ethernet port, USB 2.0 port and a micro-USB port for connecting to a wall socket or other USB adapter/port for charging the internal battery.

Asus WL-330NUL

Asus WL-330NUL

While other travel routers in the group offer something extra beyond the extension or conversion of wired to wireless networks, Asus has developed something a little different. Advertised as the world’s smallest router, the WL-330NUL is made with simplicity and size in mind, but is it any good?

First off, the Asus WL-330NUL really is very small. It measures just 65 x 20 x 15mm and weighs mere grams. On one end you’ll find a 10/100Mbps Ethernet port, and on the other there’s a USB 2.0 connector that fits into your laptop or PC.

Netgear Trek

Netgear Trek

Netgear has a wide range of networking products available and has done for as many years as most of us will care to remember. As with the other big networking names in the group, Trendnet, D-Link and so on, Netgear manages to include a little something extra with its travel router.

The Netgear Trek travel router offers a fair amount of connectivity and technology. There’s 802.11n 300Mbps wi-fi on the 2.4GHz channel, a pair of 10/100Mbps Ethernet ports, a single fullsized USB 2.0 port and a second micro-USB port. As with the other products we’ve looked at, there’s a physical switch to swap between accessing the internet via a wired or wireless signal, and it can function either plugged into a wall socket or powered via a laptop.

D-Link DIR-510L

D-Link DIR-510L

The D-Link name is synonymous with networking products and has been for a lot of years now. It’s hardly surprising, then, to find that it has quite an impressive range of personal hotspot and travel router devices on offer.

The one we have to test here is the Dir-510L portable router and charger. This is a long, thin device measuring 140 x 59 x 16mm, which has a number of interesting features.

Trendnet AC750

Trendnet AC750

Trendnet has stepped up its networking technology product line in recent years to the point where it’s one of the most popular companies for anything related to routing, switching and so on. It’s goes without saying, then, that what the company has to offer in terms of wireless travel accessories is going to be worth a look.

The Trendnet AC750 wireless travel router came out last year and aims to provide a good internet connection for those who want secure access to the outside world on the go.