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Thursday 21 July 2005, 7:00 AM
Setup very easy without encryption; box gets very hot
The 3Com OfficeConnect Travel Router is a very small, very cute device, the size of a deck of cards. There's a 4-way slide switch to pick operating mode, and if you don't want to set up WEP or WPA encryption or change wireless channels, you can just slide the switch to AP mode and it Just Works with zero further setup. If you need router mode, sometimes that's another no-work setup, or sometimes you need to use the simple web menus depending on what your ISP and DSL/cablemodem requirements are. The paper instructions aren't very detailed - if you want to do anything complicated, you'll need to use the web-based help. It's aimed at the travel market, where you want to be able to take it out of its cute little case, plug it into whatever internet your hotel or office has, and get to work with minimal fooling around.
There's no LAN-side Ethernet - it's wireless-only with just a WAN port, power cord, and reset button. If you're looking for a complex box that supports your home web server, your kid's game machine, your work VPN, and a wireless printer, blocks all your spam and feeds your dog when you're not home, you may want a more complex box, but if you're trying to get simple wireless connectivity with no work, it's a great box.
The main negative is that the box gets *very* hot. I've only had it a week (and it's summer), so I don't know if this will cause trouble in the long term.
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