LG KC910 Renoir Touch Screen 8MP Camera Wifi GPS Unlocked Tri Band (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've had the LG KC910 Renoir - Unlocked QuadBand Cellular Phone - 8 MP Camera, GPS, WiFi, FM Radio - International Version with No Warranty for about a week, and it's been a relatively good experience. At first, there was a bit of a learning curve; however, in the end, I have decided that this is a great phone. The problems I encountered dealt with the charger I received, setting up the Internet, and the auto-lock feature.
First, the charger. When I received the phone last week I discovered one fatal flaw with my purchase, the wall charger was made for charging this phone in another country (I'm in the US). Fortunately, you can charge your phone via a USB cable to your computer. I also ran into trouble with this, but as it turns out, I was using the wrong USB slot. The USB slot on the right only kept the phone alive (it wouldn't charge the battery); fortunately, the USB slot on the left would charge the phone. Whatever. You can easily find a wall charger for this phone at a retail store if you want.
The auto-lock feature isn't a bad idea; sadly, it can be incredibly annoying. I suppose this was made to keep you from accidentally dialing 911 or something. But it doesn't really work right. The solution? Just turn it off; your touch screen will go into sleep mode when you're not using it, and it will not come on if you touch the screen. It will come on if you push one of the three buttons on the bottom of the phone. Still, it would be incredibly difficult to accidentally dial 911 or something even without the auto-lock feature. Unfortunately, if you have to call and push buttons on your phone during your conversation, then the auto-lock still comes on. You just have to push the auto-lock icon, and it will go away (at least for a while). I don't know if that part of the auto-lock system can be turned off. Strange, I know.
Ah, the Internet settings. I'm using AT&T, and transferring the sim card into this phone was easy. The phone immediately worked when it came to calling people. By the way, reception was great for me. I've read about people who said the call quality was lacking. I don't know about their experience, but I had no problems. Anyway, the Internet is the one part of the phone that wouldn't work. I finally stumbled upon how to do it the other day, and it works great now. Here's how I got the Internet to work:
Phone Setting>Connectivity>Access Point: (Data Setting)
Title: Att
Bearer: GPRS
Auth: PAP
User: WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM (all caps)
Password: CINGULAR1 (ALL UPPERCASE)
APN: wap.cingular
Browser>Settings>Profiles: (Internet Setting)
Service Name: Media Net
Homepage: http://www.google.com
Connection mode: TCP without proxy
IP: (blank)
proxy: (blank)
Security: (blank)
Access Point: ATTI can't guarantee that the above code will work for you, but it's worth a shot.
Other Thoughts -
The camera phone is great (not dslr quality but good), the battery is okay, the touchscreen is decent, the eight gigabyte chip (microsdhc class 4) works well, sound quality is good, the included headphones are worthless; wifi works well. Is this phone an iPhone killer? Probably not, but it's definitely close.
Week Two Update -
It appears that the LG wall charger I bought at the retail store may have ruined my battery. It was exactly the same as the one that was sent with my phone, other than the fact that it works in the US instead of England. I managed to find another battery online, so hopefully this will correct the problem. It does seem that the battery I've been using has been problematic. I've only successfully charged it with the usb port on my computer, and that was tricky as well. So be careful when you charge this phone in the US.
Final Update -
The battery is working properly now. Not sure what happened but I wont be using that wall charger again. Everything else is good.

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Cisco-Linksys WRT54GX4 Wireless-G Broadband Router with SRX400 Review

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(More customer reviews)I have had Linksys routers for years and have absolutely no trouble with them. With my cable broadband access I was using the latest Wireless-G router (WRT54GS) with an added Linksys speedbooster and getting EXCELLENT coverage throughout my home. All was happy. All was well.
Then came Verizon Fios. No doubt, Verizon Fios broadband is far superior to cable. The problem? They gave me a D-Link 624 wireless router. The range on this puppy was pitiful compared to my previous Linksys setup. Had I known this beforehand, I wouldn't have given away my WRT54GS Linksys-G router and speedbooster to my brother. But I did -- and I was stuck with the lousy D-Link that provided poor coverage throughout my home.
I needed something powerful that would provide the same strength and coverage (or better) of the Linksys WRT54GS plus the added speedbooster.
I read all the reviews of the WRT54GX4 SRS400 router. The reviews were mostly mixed as to how well this router actually worked. The main concern was that this was new technology, possibly rushed to market, and that there would probably be kinks involved. There was another issue with an AMAZON.COM reviewer that said he could not set up his wireless print server with this modem. Having a Linksys wireless-G print server (WPS54GU2) myself, I was concerned.
I decided to gamble $119 and bought this router.
First surprise! Right out of the box I had it running in under 10 minutes. A supplied CD walks you through each step with diagrams of how to hook up the router, followed by a step-by-step configuring tool that enables you to enter all the necessary settings. Mind you, I'm a little above a novice in setting these routers up simply because I know the settings that are required. Novices may have a bit of a learning curve, but I can't see it being any more difficult than setting up any other similar sort of router.
In short, the supplied CD does a great job of guiding you through hookup and configuring your settings. In 10 minutes, my Internet connection was up and running.
Now here's the amazing part....
This router does EXACTLY what it claims to do. My wireless signal DOUBLED in strength. I have a large multi-level home. In the farthest reaches of my home, signal strength went from 2 bars (LOW) to 4 bars (VERY GOOD) - just 1 bar below EXCELLENT. I can even take my laptop out on the deck and receive signal.
Hooking up the wireless print server (WPS54GU2) was a bit of a hassle. It always is, as it is the worst configurable product Linksys has ever put out. I did call Customer Service and with the help of an Indian woman who's English was barely understandable, I was finally able to get the wireless print server working.
So, there should be absolutely no fear that the WRT54GX4 router is not compatable with a Linksys print server.
Make no mistake about it -- this router is very powerful. The signal strength doubled over a standard Wireless-G router.
Now I am going to tell you something very interesting....
My laptop has a built-in 802.11B card. I'm not even using 802.11G technology on my laptop nor the recommended WPC54GX4 notebook adapter with SRS technology built-in.
So, if I am getting such an incredible improvement in signal with an older "B" technology, you can imagine how much better your results will be with the new technology.
I am extremely happy with this router. Hopefully, you will be too!

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The next generation of wireless technology has arrived, with the Linksys WRT54GX4 Wireless-G Broadband Router with SRX400 leading the way. Although it's technically considered a router, the Linksys WRT54GX4 is much more than that. Based on "multiple in, multiple out," or MIMO, technology that effectively doubles the data rate, this is actually three high-performance devices in one. First, there's the Wireless Access Point, which lets you connect to the network, as the name suggests, without wires. Then there's the built-in four-port full-duplex 10/100 Switch to connect your wired Ethernet devices together. Finally, there's the actual router that ties it all together and lets your whole network share a high-speed cable or DSL Internet connection. With the Linksys WRT54GX4, the days of stacking boxes connected by a confusion of tangled wires are thankfully over. SRX: The Future of Wireless Networks Is Here The Linksys WRT54GX4, like all of Linksys's SRX400 products, is based on MIMO technology, a key component in the upcoming Wireless-N standard (802.11n). By overlaying the signals of two Wireless-G compatible radios, MIMO has the capacity to double data transfer rates. In fact, the maximum wireless data transfer rates of the SRX400 actually exceed the capabilities of the traditional wired Ethernet 10/100 data ports that are in place on most computer networks. It's that fast. And by using the network's signal reflections that usually hinder performance in typical wireless products to increase range and reduce "dead spots" in the wireless network, SRX400 effectively increases the coverage area of the network by up to three times that of Wireless-G. In short, not only do you significantly increase your data transfer speed with Linksys WRT54GX4, but you can vastly increase the distance you can send our signal as well. Of course, you don't want to transmit sensitive information without making certain the network is secure. To help protect data and privacy, the Linksys WRT54GX4 can encode all wireless transmissions with industrial-strength WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) encryption. It can serve as a network DHCP server, supports VPN pass-through, and has a powerful SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) firewall to protect against intruders and most known Internet attacks. Enabling these security features on the router is easy with the Linksys Web browser-based configuration utility. And when your computers are equipped with the Linksys WPC54GX4 Wireless-G PC Card, you will see unparalleled throughput, significantly reduced dead spots, and a dramatically increased wireless range compared to traditional Wireless-G networks. Does this mean that you'll need to convert all of your wireless equipment to SRX400? Not by a long shot. While SRX400 works optimally with other SRX400-enabled devices, it works just fine with standard Wireless-G and -B equipment. In fact, the Linksys WRT54GX4 router has a "good neighbor" policy that ensures that it is always checking for other wireless devices in the area before gobbling up the radio band. While it can dynamically enable a double-speed mode for SRX400 devices, it's designed to seamlessly operate with other 802.11 certified wireless devices at their respective fastest available speeds. And best of all, it enhances the performance of non-SRX devices by allowing them to connect at further distances than standard Wireless-G routers do. But when both ends of the wireless link are SRX400, the router can increase the throughput even more by using twice as much radio band, yielding speeds up to 10 times as fast as standard Wireless-G. The bottom line is that with the Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router with SRX400 at the center of your home or office network, you can share a high-speed Internet connection, files, printers, and multiplayer games at speeds faster than those of 10/100 wired networks, but without all the hassles of wires or inefficient wireless connectivity. What's in the Box Wireless-G broadband router, setup CD-ROM with Symantec Internet Security, user's guide on CD-ROM, power adapter, Ethernet network cable, and registration card.

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ASUS RT-N13U Wireless-N Router, Access Point, and Repeater Review

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(More customer reviews)For those looking for a cheap wireless N router + Print & FTP Server, this is an excellent buy!
I bought this router specifically with hope that it 'might' be able to do more than what it claims on the box, and it does, to some extent. Read on and you'll find answers to your questions that any other reviews on the web aren't able to tell you.
1. Can a USB hub be used to connect multiple peripherals to the router?
A. Yes, but with certain limitations. I have successfully connected a printer and a hard drive to the router via a usb hub, and both work flawlessly! Here's what you do: plug in the usb hub to the router, then connect the hdd to the usb hub, set up your ftp server on the hdd, then connect the printer to the usb hub, and set up your printer. You will only see the printer show up in the router's main page, but the ftp serve works fine. However, hooking up 2 printers will not work because the print command is directed ip-to-ip (your pc to the router) and pass on to the usb port. When you have a usb hub with multiple printers connected the print command will be pass on to every port on the hub. Sometimes printing will come out from the right printer that you want it to, but sometimes the command will get send to the other printer which may cause your printer to malfunction. I have two printers: a HP inkjet and a Samsung laser. It happened to me when I want to print from the Samsung but the command got sent to the HP, and HP will keep feeding paper and print out an error message on the corner until I force power-down the printer; same for the Samsung when a HP print command was sent to the Samsung it just kept printing errors until the machine overhead and power-off itself.
2. When connected to a HDD, it can only be set up as a FTP server, not a network drive.
What the differences you ask? On a network drive you can stream files directly from it, while an FTP you can only upload/download files but no running directly on the server. But simutenous access from multiple users are possible. That's an advantage over the so called "netowrk shared usb" where only a single user are allowed to use the peripheral at a time.
3. This router has a hardware repeater mode switch, which I consider a big plus. It's the transparent repeater mode, meaning it will receive and broadcast the same SSID of the network you're repeating; as oppose to 'stealth' repeater mode where you can set your own SSID and security for broadcast. Note that the network printer won't work in the repeater mode 'cause the print command will be pass on to the someone else's router (one that you're repeating). The Asus router still maintain its own ip and subset which the network printer belongs to, but it's hidden in the repeater mode. You can manually configure your pc to connect to it and you'll be able to print, but you lose internet. Not sure about FTP serve in repeater mode. Haven't try yet. The router has good range. I can receive Safeway's wifi which is like 300m from my place.
4. The router itself looks good IMO. I like the hidden antenna design.
What else? Msg me if you still have a question regarding the router.

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ASUS RT-N13U Wireless-N Router, Access Point, and Repeater

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