14 DAY TRIAL // As the wireless approach to networking is becoming more and more popular and widely used, a number of companies are trying to capitalize on this trend with products aimed at providing wireless capabilities to desktop and mobile computer systems. While most modern day notebooks and laptops are coming with integrated wireless networking interfaces, their desktop counterparts lack such features in the vast majority of cases and D-Link is one company that tries to remedy this state of affairs.
D-Link just announced two new wireless adapters that are compatible with the latest specifications of the n draft standard, the DWA-556 Wireless N Desktop Adapter and DWA-643 Wireless N Notebook Adapter, which are aimed at providing home and small office users with high speed access to wireless networks while ensuring a high level of security.
The desktop computer variant, the DWA-556 Wireless N PCle Desktop Adapter, can be used in order to connect a standard desktop computer system to a wireless network using a single PCI Express x1 expansion slot, while the DWA-643 Wireless N Notebook Adapter comes in a slim and light casing and it connects to a host system using the new ExpressCard interface.
Thanks to their hardware compliance with the latest draft of the wireless networking standard both of these new D-Link devices are offering high speeds with a raw data throughput of up to 300Mb per second, while their area coverage is up to five times larger when compared to network interfaces that are compatible with the 802.11g protocol.
As the latest wireless standard for networks also comes with advanced security features, the D-Link products are supporting WPA/WPA2 security and WEP data encryption in order to offer a high level of protection against intrusions. Bundled with both of these products there is a quick start-up guide as well as a software application called Wireless Manager Software that helps users set up or connect to a wireless network in just a few minutes.
''These new adapters will provide users with ultimate Wireless N connectivity and go hand in hand with D-Link's latest Wireless N product range," said Bentley Lo, D-Link Product Manager. "Both adapters have been developed to meet the performance, flexibility and security expectations of home and office users." The two new D-Link wireless networking adapters are now available from retail dealers and they come with a price tag of $120.85.