Wi-Fire: Extends Wi-Fi Range to 1000 Feet - Design
(Page 2 of 4 )
Design
The Wi-Fire is relatively compact in size. The device measures 4 x .375 x 3.25 inches and weighs about 4 ounces. The device itself consists of a directional antenna, USB connection, and a laptop clip (used to mount the device). The Wi-Fire feels pretty durable, and will withstand some accidental drops with no problems.
The Wi-Fire is designed to sit atop a laptop screen, or it can also sit on a flat surface. Although the device is lightweight, it felt a little heavy sitting on top of my laptop. I clipped the Wi-Fire to the top of my laptop, but it didn't seem to clip on to the top of my screen very tightly. The Wi-Fire clip is fully adjustable, so that it will fit onto just about any size laptop. On my laptop, though, it felt very loose and even fell off a few times when I moved my laptop or adjusted the Wi-Fire's antenna.
The antenna can be spun around 360 degrees in order to seek out Wi-Fi signals from any direction. The antenna does need to be pointed toward a Wi-Fi access point in order to pick up any Wi-Fi signals. As you turn the antenna, you will constantly drop certain networks and pick up others. Maybe it was just the test model that I received, but the antenna felt very loose and turned on its own when I accidentally tilted my laptop a bit. I then had to adjust the antenna again to find the wireless network that I was locked onto.
The USB cable is nicely designed. The cable is attached to the Wi-Fire device with a nice "automatic winding" mechanism that keeps your USB cord nice and tidy. The cord will extend up to 4 feet long, which proved to be more than long enough in my experience with the device. The USB plug needs to be plugged into your laptop's USB port, and that's the only connection needed to hook up the Wi-Fire. I like the simplicity of having just one cable to plug in.
Overall, I think that the design of the Wi-Fire could have been a little more refined in some areas. Although the device is compact, I wish it could have been a little smaller so that it didn't feel so bulky on top of my laptop. I loved the easy hook-up of the device, though. If hField Technologies just made a few adjustments to tie up some loose ends (literally), the design of the Wi-Fire would be much more user-friendly. The clip needs to have a tighter feel, and so does the antenna.
Next: Software >>
More Networking Hardware Articles
More By Joe Eitel
