Tenda Portable Wireless AP/Router W300M Review

Have you experienced the annoyance of booking into a hotel room only to find that it has one network socket in the corner of the room? Many people have probably already chosen their next hotel based on wireless internet connection support in all rooms. If you are one of these people then a portable wireless router device could be a good investment. The Tenda W300M is a portable wireless router which can act as an access point allowing you to connect several wireless devices to the internet, or as a wireless repeater extending the range of the weak hotel wireless signal. There are also three other functions which are combinations and variations of the previous two. This allows you to make use of this device in many different environments, whether at school, university, work, or conference halls. Specifications Standards 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.3, 802.3u Ports one 10/100Mbps Auto-Negotiation Ethernet port for LAN/WAN one USB port Frequency Range 2.4GHz-2.4835Hz Antenna 3.5dBi output power 20dbm Input Voltage Range AC：100～240V；50/60Hz Output Voltage Range DC 5V/1A Operating Temperature 0℃ ~ 40℃ Storage Temperature -40oC ~ 70oC Operating Humidity: 10% ~ 90% RH non-condensing Storage Humidity 5% ~ 90% RH non-condensing Certificates FCC ,CE(Wireless), RoHS,WEEE Wireless Security WEP,WPA-PSK,WPA2-PSK Dimensions 103mm×63mm×18mm Functions remote/local Web management,UPnP,DDNS,LAN access control over Internet connection,MAC address -based access control,virtual server, DMZ host,Built-in firewall Package Contents W300M 300Mbps Portable Wireless AP/Router Power Adapter Quick Installation Guide One Software CD (User Guide included) The Tenda W300M has retail packaging designed to attract your eye ... The Tenda colour scheme will have a bright presence on any shelf. The back of the package tells you nearly everything you need to know, and details how all of the 5 modes work; AP Mode, Client + AP Mode, WDS + AP Mode, WISP Mode, Wireless Router Mode. The two sides of the box tell us more about the product, and what is included inside the box. Opening up the box, we find two plastic trays holding the W300M and accessories so that the router can be seen from the front of the box. Tenda have included 3 cables, two of which are practically the same - a USB to mini USB power cable, and a double USB to mini USB power cable. The third cable being a standard ethernet cable. In case you want to power this device from the mains, Tenda have also included a Power Adapter. This means you can leave the device on even when the laptop is off. While they have included a little booklet for initial set-up, the user guide is on the CD. It is very well written however, which is a bonus, especially for inexperienced network users. The device has a very distinctive white colouring, with the thin grey band across the top. At the bottom of the device we can see indicator LED's, showing us which of the 5 modes are selected and whether the device has a wireless connection or a wired connection. The router is fairly thin - 16mm at the thickest point and just over 11mm at the bottom edge. The front facing curved design looks elegant. The reason for this thickness at the rear is purely to allow for a full-sized network socket. The company have also included a USB power socket at the top of the device. Although not clear in this picture, there are two buttons on this side of the router, which have been set back from the side. The first is a WPS connect/ reset button and the other is a mode button. This allows the user to switch modes without going into the settings pages. The bottom of the device continues the simple colour theme, with several grill spaces to allow lots of airflow through the device. Once you have plugged in the router, and typed the correct IP address into your browser you are greeted with this page. By default it is ready to be used as a Wireless Access Point. Clicking next gives us lots of options about the wireless access point, by default having an SSID of 'Tenda'. Once set-up, you can see the 'System Status', listing LAN Status and WLAN Status. The LAN settings can also be changed, as well as lots of wireless options. We have included the rest of the screenshots for the Wireless Access Point pages, the other 4 modes of the Tenda W300M have nearly identical options so the pages are very similar. There are many system settings, but these are fairly standard. We also liked the reboot screen, making it clear how far through it is. The reboots were also surprisingly quick. Testing the performance of a device like this depends significantly on the other network devices and drivers used. As such, we were looking specifically at the usability of this device, and how it compares to other portable wireless routers on the market. A while back, for instance, we took a look at the Asus WL-330N3G 6 in 1 Wireless-N Router which is an incredibly small wireless router with 6 different functions. The Tenda W300M is capable of 5 different functions; Wireless Access Point, Client + Access Point, Wireless Distribution System+ Access Point, Wireless Router and Wireless Identification and Sensing Platform. As such, this covers all of the likely uses for such a portable device. The repeater mode, Client + Access Point is especially useful around the house allowing the original signal to be amplified and strengthened, while also giving a wired connection which is ideal for IPTV boxes and Smart Televisions. The Tenda W300M is very easy to use. The settings pages load quickly, and reboots occur within 20-30 seconds. Additionally, you also have the ability to switch modes without going into the settings page (once the settings have all been entered) by pressing one button on the side. This allows you to use it in many environments with ease. We were also impressed with the signal strength, we could connect to it at the other side of a house, something that can't always be achieved by some 'Non-portable' routers. While the speeds decreased after penetrating through a couple of walls, the signal held strong. In the same room as the router the speeds were up to 300 Mbps, which is excellent. We have no concerns with performance, especially as the device is going to be used in many hotel rooms, close to the computer. The only negative point we could mention would be that the device does get warm after being used for a few hours, but it didn't cause any problems during our test period. In terms of price, this device is extremely good value for money as it retails for only £16.98 inc vat in the United Kingdom today. Pros Can be used in many situations. Good wireless speeds at close range. Settings are effortlessly simple and load quickly. Mode button allows for switching without loading settings. Incredible value for money. Cons Could be smaller. Does get slightly hot. Kitguru says: Fantastic value for money.