D-Link Unified Wireless N Services Router - DSR-250N product reviews

This has hands-down been one of the most difficult products that I have had to review. The main reason for this is that I am certainly not the most technologically savvy person, and that my wireless needs are much less than the proposed capabilities of the device. In fact, just to understand what a fraction of the item description is, I have had to do research.

The most important thing to initially stress, is that this is a ROUTER. This is not a modem. This effectively means that the product allows computers and devices to connect to a Local Area Network (LAN); this router therefore does not provide access to the Internet unless it is connected to a modem.
This is an ideal device for a small to medium business, with 8 LAN ports, each allowing another device to be directly wired in the network. While wireless is also available, this is marginally slower, more prone to dropping out, and is less secure than being directly connected to the LAN port via ethernet cable.

For somebody that is fluent in technological lingo, this would quite possibly be a very easy item to set up. I myself, came across a great deal of difficulty understanding the instructions, which in my opinion were less than straightforward. It took me about 15 minutes before I gave up on the "Quick Start" booklet, another 5 minutes before I gave up on the pdf document on the disk provided, 10 minutes before I gave up on Youtube, and ended up calling a friend, who knew about these things. In hindsight, the number of steps that I needed to do to complete the installation of this product was minimal. It was just incredibly difficult to find the steps amongst the ''unnecessary'' information.

The router itself is not able to speed up or improve the strength of the internet connection. It is purely a way of conveying what is emitted from the modem; in my personal circumstances, my internet connection drops out frequently, so performance was difficult to ascertain. With a longer cable between the modem and the router, however, the product acts as a repeater and increases the range, which is valuable in large buildings.

I have had a D-Link before, and it was bright aqua in colour, with large flickering LED lights, and was incredibly lightweight; so much so that it would often fall off of its position on the shelf. This product is is the opposite; it has a sleek, dark design, with a weight that holds it in place, and smaller, less distracting LED lights. The power-saving mode is also a pleasing aspect to see being added into these products with so much emphasis on being green, and reducing emissions.

Overall, I can see the benefits of this device for a small-medium size business, with a solid internet connection, providing secure connections for multiple devices. I would however look to wait until the product drops in price slightly. $349.99 is a bit on the steep side, with similar products ranging in price from $200-$300.