If you’re headed out on a business trip and already inwardly dreading dealing with the hotel Wi-Fi, you might want to check out TP-Link’s newest router.
Last week, the Chinese hardware maker unveiled what it’s calling the world’s smallest router, said to be smaller than a hockey puck, or around the same size as a credit card. The company launched the Wireless N Nano router (TL-WR702N), a router is aimed at business travellers who want to share their hotel Wi-Fi between their laptop and mobile devices.
The idea here is to give travellers a small, portable router that’s easy to set up and that will fit neatly into your carry-on luggage, as well as providing a “secure private hotspot on the fly.”
“TL-WR702N is the smallest wireless router in the world and very easy to use. A traveler need simply plug a hotel room’s WAN cable into the port provided and enter a default password to instantly create a wireless hotspot in the room,” according to TP-Link’s description of the router on its site.
Coming in at measurements of just 57 mm by 57 mm by 18 mm, the router offers some of the same features found on regular-sized routers. Specs include compatibility with the 802.11 b/g/n standard, Quality of Service, and in-built security and firewall. The router also has five operational modes – access point, router, client, bridge, and repeater mode.
It connects to a user’s laptop through a micro USB port or a USB connection, or it can also be plugged straight into a hotel’s WAN cable through its adapter. And to keep data secure, the router provides WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK encryptions, firewall protection, as well as a feature that sets the first SSID and password for the user, giving them more protection beyond encryption.
Priced at around $25, TP-Link’s new router is now available in stores like Canada Computers, NCIX.com, Staples, and Best Buy.