Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Strengths: Very configurable, (relatively) good price, nice-looking
Weaknesses: Complicated setup, no 108mbps model available
All in all, the WGE111 wireless gaming adapter is a great piece of hardware. Not only is it priced competitively with other gaming adapters and wireless bridges (so-called wireless gaming adapters are virtually identical to wireless bridges), but it's also the best-looking unit on the market by far. I was particularly impressed by the sturdy and stable vertical stand that's included in the box. Unlike most other stands I've encountered for this type/size of hardware, it snaps onto the unit securely and is not prone to toppling over at the slightest upset.
Gaming performance over Xbox Live is great; I've noticed no difference between using this adapter and plugging the console directly into my router via ethernet cable (and my Xbox is located a fair distance away from my router).
My two gripes with the WGE111 are minor--neither one will impact anyone's day-to-day experience with the adapter--but they are important to note. First of all, it's unfortunate that Netgear doesn't offer a 108mbps variety of this adapter that's compatible with their other 108mbps 802.11g devices. Admittedly, an Xbox or PS2 would never even remotely need that kind of speed, but for consumers with 108mbps wireless networks it's always good to have all wireless devices on a network running the same protocol at the same speed.
Secondly, the setup of this adapter is quite complicated. In order to use the device on a security-enabled network, consumers need to first configure the adapter by connecting it to a PC with an included ethernet cable and running the provided setup wizard. This should be a simple task, but the software refused to locate and identify my adapter until I disabled my router's WEP encryption, leaving my network unsecured and vulnerable during setup. I live in a multiple-network environment (an apartment building) with one or two unsecured networks in the area, and the adapter would automatically connect to the first available unsecured network, rendering it invisible to my own and to the setup software. The ethernet connection to the PC should have trumped this, but it did not. As a result, the setup of my adapter probably took about 45 minutes--much longer than it should have.
After initial setup, however, the adapter has worked flawlessly, and it's quite configurable as well via a browser-based interface. What makes the WGE111 even more configurable is a small switch on the rear to quickly change between infrastructure and ad hoc modes, allowing users to quickly setup ad hoc LAN games between consoles. This is one feature that sets this adapter apart from other wireless bridges, and it should come in quite handy if you ever connect multiple consoles for multiplayer games.
Overall, this is a great piece of hardware. Despite its few shortcomings, it is an exceptional and reliable performer once it's up and running.
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As networking technology continues to evolve, the needs for a wireless network continue to expand to a wider variety of home applications.A home user may wish to link one or more gaming consoles to their wireless network to partake in Internet or LAN gaming, but would like to avoid a tangle of cables spread across their home.The NETGEAR WGE111 54 Mbps Wireless Game Adapter offers the perfect solution.It can be attached to a game console's Ethernet port to link to console to a wireless network for Internet gaming.For LAN (AdHoc) gaming, two WGE111 or more units can be used to link two game consoles to each other, without a wireless router even being needed – ideal for LAN parties.An external switch allows users to easily select between Internet and AdHoc modes, and the WGE111 is interoperable with 802.11b and 802.11g devices.
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