14 DAY TRIAL // So far, Powerline adapters have only, or at least mostly, been of the physical LAN variety. TRENDnet wanted to take things one step further though, and that's what it did: make a Wi-Fi accessible powerline kit.
Powerline networking is a technology that enables you to set up a local area network without specialized cables of any sort.
All you need is at least two adapters plugged into different power sockets in your home and voila! LAN is yours to do with as you wish.
Normally, however, you still need a cable to plug into the adapter. Fortunately, TRENDnet has finally made a model that doesn't require it.
Sure, you still get a LAN port, but the Powerline 500 Wireless Kit, bearing the part number (model number) of TPL-410APK, has Wi-Fi support as well.
The kit is composed of the TPL-406E and TPL-410AP Powerline adapters, which can automatically connect as soon as you plug them in. They even use a pre-encrypted signal.
Their speed is of 500 Mbps if you use them normally, as physical ports. When you use the wireless access point, however, you are limited to 300 Mbps.
That's not that bad though. 300 Mbps is the standard speed over Wi-Fi, and will be quite convenient if, say, you plug your PC via cable but want to access the net from your tablet, laptop or phone as well.
The Powerline 500 AV Wireless Access Point communicates, as you might have guessed, over the 2.4 GHz radio band.
Maybe in the future, TRENDnet or someone else will launch a dual-band Powerline kit that can tap into the 5 GHz band as well. It's not really necessary though, since people use wireless routers for that. Obviously, advanced AES data encryption is provided both over Wi-Fi and over physical connections.
The TRENDnet Powerline 500 Wireless Kit will work in houses as large as up to 5000 square feet / 465 square meters. You won't need to install anything from a CD or connect to some cloud server-based setup application in order to make all this work.
Homes built with thick, stone walls are the ones that will benefit from Powerline technology the most, since those materials, being so dense and thick, degrade wireless signals. Being able to create a network through the power grid solves that issue easily.
"The TPL-410APK is well suited to extend a wireless network in large homes or homes built with concrete or masonry construction which degrades wireless signals," stated Zak Wood, director of global marketing for TRENDnet. "Installation couldn't be easier. Simply plug in the adapters and you're up and running."