Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Quick Review: $5 Agiler USB Ethernet Adapter


When Google launched the Cr-48 without an ethernet port, no one wept. Many homes and even businesses are preferring wireless connectivity over wired ethernet these days. 2 years ago I had a college student ask me why there were "big phone ports" at every desk in a classroom, he'd literally did not know what a wired computer connection looked like. Still there are times you need a wired connection, whether it's a legacy network, super secure location or just a building that doesn't play well with WiFi / 3G signals.

I grabbed one of these cheap USB to Ethernet Adapters off Amazon.com a few weeks back and it's worked great. The $5 shipped price tag leaves no complaints from my wallet either. It's obviously a hunk of plastic but it's solid enough and shouldn't give you any issue unless it takes a direct blow. Setting it up on my Cr-48 and Samsung Series 5 couldn't have been easier, it's plug and go. When you have it plugged into the USB port and an Ethernet cable connected, the Wireless icon at the top right of your screen changes to a wired port and you're connected.

Honestly you can't go wrong with one of these for $5 and it makes a great addition to your bag for when you're faced with finicky wireless and just need to get connected and working. If you prefer a brand name, you can also spend $30 on a Linksys USB Ethernet Adapter which is what Google apparently uses and might give you a little better performance and quality but for my needs, the $5 adapter is doing great.

3 comments:

  1. Nice article. Thanks for continuing to experiment with and tell us about the CR-48.

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  2. Got one, doesn't work, probably defective as no light comse on. Oh well was not much money.

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  3. Yeah same here K8OMS, it recognizes it though and shows the ethernet. Just no connection and no light.

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