Belkin Wireless G Plus MIMO USB Adapter Network adapter

...one I chose was the Belkin G+ MIMO adapter, which was handy, as it makes the rest of this review much more relevant and, hopefully, more readable.

Reason for choice.
As I stared at the vast array of different network adapters, I will admit I was a bit bewildered. Not only were there different types (eg card, USB), but there were different sub-types, specified by a range of letters that I had little or no chance of ever being ...
...like a sore thumb (or Belkin G+MIMO network adapter).

I clicked on my network name to highlight it, and clicked on the CONNECT button, wherein I was asked to enter either a 16-bit hexadecimal key or the passkey. Having no idea what the hexadecimal key was, I plumped for the passkey option and typed in the 13-figure password that I had earlier created for the modem/router and……..Hey Presto, in just a matter of seconds I was wirelessly ... more

I was converted from internet sceptic to true believer about three years ago, when I first signed up for AOL’s dial-up service. But it was only a few months ago that I took the plunge and signed my life away to broadband and entered the world of the external modem/router with wireless capabilities (a rather simplistic little box provided by AOL free of charge). In itself, this little box of tricks was easy enough to use, but I always thought that it would be great if I could get both of my computers (desktop and laptop) working together, using the same internet connection, so that I could work downstairs as well as in my study. So, about a month ago, I bit the bullet and bought a network adapter for my laptop.

In fact, the one I chose was the Belkin G+ MIMO adapter, which was handy, as it makes the rest of this review much more relevant and, hopefully, more readable.

Reason for choice.
As I stared at the vast array of different network adapters, I will admit I was a bit bewildered. Not only were there different types (eg card, USB), but there were different sub-types, specified by a range of letters that I had little or no chance of ever being able to figure out. All I knew was that I would need a USB adapter, because my PC card slot was already full. So, being a man, I did the only thing that I could. I got my wife to ask the assistant which would be best for my application.

He suggested that, because my house has solid stone walls, I would need one of the ‘better range’ models. He explained that the hieroglyphics on the front of the boxes were supposed to indicate how good the range and speed of the individual adapter was, with the G+MIMO being one of the better types for standard home networking. Naturally, he did try to sell me the more expensive ‘N’ type, which would, according to him be ‘future proof’ and able to handle faster networking speeds, but, with a price tag more than double the £30 of the G+MIMO, he would, wouldn’t he?

The box.
Having got home with my latest foray into the world of technology, I was eager to get started ‘hooking up’ my computers, so, with a cup of coffee by my side and a look of confident excitement on my face, I took the box out of the bag.

The shiny plastic box, with all the writing and pretty pictures on it, turned out to be nothing but a cover for another, plain white cardboard box, which was where I found the actual adapter, its stand, the installation disc and a set of instructions which, although being on a sheet large enough to wallpaper my living room with, said virtually nothing about how to get the adapter to work. Fortunately, however, what little it did say enabled me to insert the installation disc into my CD-ROM drive and get the process under way.

Getting started in the world of networks.
With the installation CD whirring away in its drive, the program started getting my computer ready to accept the adapter. Eventually, after a few NEXTs, CONTINUEs and OKs, the screen told me it was time to insert the adapter into a suitable USB port.

As I mentioned above this particular adapter comes with a stand, which allows the user to connect via a cable, thus keeping everything neatly out of the way, thanks to the lead (about a metre long). Whilst working at a desk, this would be the ideal method of hooking up to a laptop, but as I was working with my computer on my knee, it was much easier to use just the adapter itself (without the stand) and plug it straight into a USB port at the side of the computer..

Admittedly, this adapter could never be called unobtrusive. At about 10 cm (3.5inches) long and 4 cm (1.5 inches) high, it sticks out of the side of my laptop like a hitchhiker’s thumb, and for anyone using their laptop whilst on the go, this could easily result in damage to both the adapter and the computer. Sticking out of the back of a desktop, or connected to a laptop via the cable and stand, however, shouldn’t cause a problem.

So, there I was, with my adapter installed, attached and flashing its little green light at me. Now, living in a little miner’s cottage in a semi-rural village just outside Doncaster, and having not bought the most expensive adapter on offer, I hardly expected to find a plethora of networks surfing the electronic airwaves, especially as my neighbours on both sides are somewhat advanced in years and the picture on the box suggested that this particular model would not reach much further than the confines of my home. Yet, once the little lump of plastic had done its thing, I was presented with 5 different options, all with varying signal strengths, as denoted by the little bars in the extremely clear, simple and user-friendly user interface on screen.

Being a canny Yorkshireman, when I set up my modem/router, I gave it a sensibly individual name which was easy for me to remember, and, following the instructions for the modem/router, had created a 13-figure password. As I looked at the list of networks nearby however, it became clear that not everyone had bothered to take, what I considered to be, such sensible steps. In fact, there were three networks just called BT Fusion, and one which had been given the imaginative name ‘Network’, mine stuck out like a sore thumb (or Belkin G+MIMO network adapter).

I clicked on my network name to highlight it, and clicked on the CONNECT button, wherein I was asked to enter either a 16-bit hexadecimal key or the passkey. Having no idea what the hexadecimal key was, I plumped for the passkey option and typed in the 13-figure password that I had earlier created for the modem/router and……..Hey Presto, in just a matter of seconds I was wirelessly connected to the internet.

And there the story ends.
Well pretty much anyway. I have been surfing the net for a few days now and have had not a single problem with my adapter or my network as a whole. Admittedly, I haven’t put it through a series of rigorous survival tests, so I can’t really comment on its structural strength. But, if you are the kind of person who wants to use the web whilst bungee jumping, I would suggest that, instead of buying the Belkin G+MIMO wireless network adapter, you save your money for serious psychiatric help. If, however, you just want to be able to create a reasonable network connection within a sensibly sized home, with the minimum of fuss, this little gizmo works just fine. 

...less