Easy, Inexpensive Ways to Get More Out of Wi-Fi

I’m always surprised at how many tech-savvy folks who have home Wi-Fi networks don’t extend the reach of their Wi-Fi using easy, inexpensive tools. It doesn’t cost much to get great performance inside and outside a home, and if you use Wi-Fi when traveling, you can pack lightweight tools that will make it much easier to work efficiently. In this post, I’ll discuss a couple of low-cost devices that can make your wireless life much better.

If you ever run into Wi-Fi performance problems in certain locations around your home, a single $70 Wi-Fi range extender can make a world of difference. Belkin has one for just under $70, and you can get them for whatever brand of router you’re already using. My home router is upstairs, but with one of these downstairs I can get good Wi-Fi speeds 75 yards away from my house, in the backyard.

If you want to quickly add printers, digital cameras, external hard drives or pretty much any device with a USB port to your Wi-Fi arsenal, consider a network USB hub. These are typically in the $100 to $140 range, so they’re not dirt cheap, but the convenience of wireless printing and the like makes the cost worthwhile.

Finally, one of the best received new Wi-Fi accessories in a long time is the Eye-Fi card, which is great if you don’t currently have a Wi-Fi-enabled digital camera. This card won best of show awards at more than one of the last few big technology tradeshows. It’s an SD card that you can get from Amazon and elsewhere for under $100, and it makes it easy to shoot your photos to a computer or online, or both without the hassle of wires.

Do you know of any useful ways to get more out of Wi-Fi?

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