::Kensington WiFi Finder mini-review:: [/tech/misc] (11:41)

I got my WiFi Finder this morning. It's a small device that detects 802.11b and 802.11g signals. I often find myself randomly stopping and pulling out my iBook to check for network connectivity. Being able to reduce the process to a single button press is quite cool.

Since it is the first device of it's kind on the market, (that I've seen) I have to give Kensington credit for innovation. Unfortunately, the device has several problems.

It's too big. The WiFi finder is HUGE. Despite the claims, the device is NOT something you want hanging off your keychain. They really need to work on form factor here. It's way too wide. If they could get it about half as wide, I'd be much happier. On the plus side, it is quite thin.

The interface is confusing. How can you mess up with only one button and three LEDs? Well, Kensington found a way. Maybe my mind is just being warped by prolonged exposure to Apple products, but is it too much to ask for a device to make sense? When I first opened the WiFi Finder, I pressed the button and got: a bunch of randomly blinking lights. To try and interpret the lights, I decided to RTFM, but ...

The manual is useless. Basically, the 12 page manual has one paragraph that explains the random blinking. Maybe they could have cut out the two pages on technical support and added a little bit more of an explanation of what things mean. After reading it 3 or 4 times, and trying the device on several known access points I managed to figure it out.

The range seems weak. I have an iBook and I can pick up solid signals where the WiFi finder stumbles, but the iBook has really strong wireless range.

Despite all of this, I highly recommend the device. The device is cheap ($20) and performs a very useful function. I do wish Kensington had done a little better with the device, but as the copy cat devices come out we will no doubt see better thought out devices. In the mean time, I'm happy with the Kensington device.