Posts

Posted on

Making my own 1TB SSD Portable Drive

crucial_SSD_2

I was surprised to see how much the price of SSD’s (solid state drives) have dropped in price. I decided it was time to replace my slower portable drives with faster SSD ones. One thing I also learned a while ago is that many times it’s cheaper to buy the drive and buy external case to put it in, rather than buying a drive already assembled. I already a couple of generic USB 3.0 external cases that I picked up on sale at Micro Center. So I ordered this Crucial 1TB SSD drive.

Can the external hard drive case make a difference?

inateck-enclsoure

I put the SSD in my existing generic USB 3.0 external case. I formatted the drive and and copied the data to it from my existing external drive. All was well. Then I saw an ad for another enclosure by Inateck that claimed to be “Optimized for SSD”. I have seen firmware make a difference in the past with external drive enclosures, so I figured it’s possible that this enclosure could be faster. Since the price was only a few dollars more than generic USB 3.0 enclosures (under $20), I decided to try it and compare. The first thing I noticed that I really liked was the fact that you can install the drive without any tools. The cover comes off/unlocks by sliding it forward. Just plug your drive in and slide the cover back on. Then I saw the thing that I don’t like about this enclosure. I went to plug in my existing USB 3.0 cable that I’ve used on every USB 3.0 drive I’ve ever used only to see that for whatever reason they put a USB 3.0 A connector on the drive (the same one that’s on your computer). Granted they also give you the A to A cable, but it means that I would only be able to use that cable (or one like it) every time I use this drive. I’m still scratching my head over that one.

Next I decided to try a speed test. I had already tested the drive in the old case before taking it out and here are the results.

generic-USB3-enclosure

Then I plugged in the new enclosure with the same drive and and ran the same test and here are the results.

inetech-USB3-enclosure

The Bottom Line

Going SSD is definitely the way to go if you’re looking for speed and better reliability over spinning platter drives. While the Inateck enclosure is slightly faster, I’m not sure that it’s worth it because of the weird cable needed to connect the drive.

You can get the Crucial 1TB 6Gbs SSD here.

You can get the Inateck SSD Optimized enclosure here.

You can get a standard/generic USB 3.0 enclosure here.

 

Posted on

Best iPad Mount for your Desk – Arkon makes it float!

iPad-desk-mount-Arkon

At my desk I work with three displays and usually my iPad Air 2 is within arm’s length. The problem is that when I want to use it I have to either turn away from my main display or pick it up and put it on my lap as there is little available desk space left in front of me. What if my iPad could just “float” in midair almost at eye level and always be there when I need it? That’s what the Arkon solutions provide me. Arkon makes a variety of mounts for your smartphones, tablets and cameras. Many pieces within their product line work together to allow you to build the right system for you.

iPad-desk-mount-Arkon-side

This holder comes with different “feet” to allow you to configure it for any full size iPad or Galaxy Tab. It comes with a  Heavy Duty Gooseneck arm.

Arkon_iPad_desk_mount

This thing feels as if it can hold up a car. Once you put it in the position you want, don’t worry it won’t move! Now keep in mind that this gooseneck can be used for more than just holding your tablet. If you add their low cost Camera Head Adapter kit it will hold your camera too. Yes even your heavy DSLR!

Get the Arkon Heavy Duty Table/Desk/Wheelchair Mount here.

arkon-camera-holder

Get the Camera Head Adapter Kit here.

 

CORRECTION: I was told by Arkon that the camera mount I listed above is too small for this gooseneck. So if you want to use this for a camera then you should order this model instead.

 

The Bottom Line

Arkon makes mounts to mount just about anything on anything. However, this is definitely one of my favorite solutions for mounting stuff in my office or home. If you’re looking for the best iPad mount, this is it!

 

Posted on

5 Hot Deals for Cyber Monday 2014

cybermonday

I can remember a time when Black Friday was the Friday after Thanksgiving and Small Business Saturday was the following day which led to Cyber Monday the Monday following Thanksgiving. Black Friday was for those that wanted to get up early, stand in lines and clamor for deals with brick and mortar stores. Cyber Monday was reserved for the online deals. Now it’s 2014 and that’s simply no longer the case. Sure there are still lines on Black Friday for local deals, but stores are competition more and more each year our attention. Each year they tried outdo each other by opening earlier and earlier until finally Friday at 12:01 AM was no longer good enough. Thanksgiving evening became fair game and that finally became Thanksgiving afternoon. As sad as that sounds especially for those workers wishing to spend time with their families and friends on Thanksgiving, Black Friday online (you know that Cyber Monday thing) suddenly became “Black November”. Some online retailers have been running deals all week while others have been running deals all month. With that said, Black Friday probably still sees the deepest discounts. So what’s left for Cyber Monday? Not much, but in some cases the big names have different items on sale today. Here are a few to check out:

 

#1

Amazon’s Cyber Monday Deals

Check them out here.

 

#2

B&H Photo and Video’s Deals

bh-cybermonday-2014

Check them out here.

 

#3

Adobe Creative Cloud Still on Sale

Screenshot 2014-11-27 14.10.13

You can get a Full Creative Cloud Membership for only $39.99/month down from the usual $49.99/month. If you’re a student or teacher it gets even better. You can get your first year of the Full Adobe Creative Cloud for only $15.99/month (down from $19.99). Get the deals here.

 

#4

Kelby One Deal

Kelby Cyber 2014

Yep, it’s still going on and it’s a good one. See it here.

 

#5

Nikon D5200 Kit

NikonD5200Kit

Save $400 on this Nikon D5200 kit. Great DSLR for beginners. Now at a price that’s hard to pass up. Includes TWO lenses, 16GB SD Card, Wireless Module, Nikon School DVD and Travel Case. Get it here.

 

Also don’t forget to check out my 2014 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide

terrywhiteGiftGuideGlobe-255

See it here.

 

Posted on

My Top 10 Picks for Black Friday Deals

blackfriday2014

Black Friday is here although each year it’s becoming more and more “Black November”, nevertheless I’ve got my picks for the Top 10 Black Friday deals that you don’t want to miss. In no particular order let’s get to it:

 

#1

It wouldn’t be Black Friday without great deals from B&H Photo and Video.



#2

Kelby One

Kelby Cyber 2014

My friends over at Kelby One are offering the FULL set of NIK plugins, NIK Collection ($149 value) when you sign up for a year of online training starting at $149. Get it here.

 

#3

40% Off Adobe Creative Cloud

Screenshot 2014-11-27 14.10.13

You can get a Full Creative Cloud Membership for only $39.99/month down from the usual $49.99/month. If you’re a student or teacher it gets even better. You can get your first year of the Full Adobe Creative Cloud for only $15.99/month (down from $19.99). Get the deals here.

 

#4

Bluehost is offering 50% off their hosting plans

Check out the deals here

 

#5

Amazon.com has several great deals all month long

 

#6

Mophie is doing 40% off

In particular the Power Reserve is now only $29.97 (regular $49.95). I carry this battery on my keychain everyday. I always felt that the $49.95 price was a bit pricy, but at $29.97 it’s a lot better. Head to mophie.com and use the code “power” at checkout.

 

#7

Adobe Photoshop Elements 13 and Premiere Elements 13 Bundle

PEPE13web

Normally goes for $149.99, on sale for only $79.99. Get it here (boxed or electronic download).

 

#8

Other World Computing

owcholidayspecials_2014

One of my favorite sources for RAM and computer accessories is having a huge sale. Check it out here

 

#9

Lexar 32GB SDHC Memory Card Professional Class 10

Lexar32GBCard

Because you can never have too many memory cards, get this professional grade 32GB card for only $19.95 here.

 

#10

$400 off the Nikon D610 Body

Nikon_D610

The Nikon D610 is Nikon’s lowest priced full frame DSLR and at this price it’s very hard to beat. Get it here for $400 off.

 

 

Also don’t forget to check out my 2014 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide

terrywhiteGiftGuideGlobe-255

 

See it here.

 

Posted on

Happy Thanksgiving 2014

happy-thanksgiving

I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

I have a LOT to be thankful for and one of the things that I’m most thankful for is the overwhelming amount of support that I receive from my readers and fans. Enjoy time with your friends and family.

If you get into the whole holiday shopping thing be sure to come back tomorrow to take a peek at some hand picked Black Friday Gadget/Tech Deals. I would ask that you not give in to the desires of retailers today and not go shopping on Thanksgiving. Black Friday is starting to become Black November and there’s really no reason that the deals can’t wait until Friday.

Otherwise, enjoy! I’m looking forward to the long weekend.

Posted on

How To Change Your Website’s Background Image Using Scroll Effects in Adobe Muse

Muse-totem

 

In this episode of Adobe Creative Cloud TV I answer a Facebook Fan request on “how did they do that?” Specifically what he wanted to know how to do was the Full Screen Slideshow Scroll Effect seen here on a recent Adobe Muse “Site of the Day.” I was curious myself and I took the approach of “how would I do that” if I wanted to do it for my own site? In the video below you’ll see my approach for having a full screen slideshow that changes the background image of the site as visitors scroll/navigate down the page (using scroll effects).

 

 

Are you missing out on my Bonus Content?

See more of my Adobe Creative Cloud Videos on my Adobe Creative Cloud TV and get the App below. It features EXCLUSIVE CONTENT that no one else gets to see. This episode has a BONUS CLIP that is available only in the App! My iOS App is a Universal App for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. I also have an Android version on the Amazon App Store:

.





Posted on

My 2014 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide (web version) is Here!

2014-Holiday_Gadget_Gift_Guide

Last week I released my 2014 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide as an interactive EPUB and as promised I’m releasing the web version today!

That’s right it’s my guide to help you with you holiday shopping for the gadget lover (freak) on your list. The way this thing started was each year towards the holiday season all my friends started asking me and emailing about what my picks were in various categories and of course the answers were usually the same. So I decided to compile a list and just email it to the folks that asked.

Once again I’ve put together a Holiday Gadget Gift Guide to help you pick out gifts for the techies and gadget lovers on your gift list. I’ve chosen Amazon.com simply because they are the one online retailer with not only the largest presence, but also the one that carries 99% of the items I recommend. Another advantage is that I can continue to add things that come up all the way up to the final days of the holiday season. In previous years I would always find some cool gadgets after the static gift guide was published.

How did you pick the items that you recommend?

Simple! If it’s in my guide it’s because I either use it now, have used it in the past or one of my close friends or colleagues use it and I trust their opinion. Now in some cases there may be an item in the guide that is NEWER than the one I use and I had to list that one because my model is no longer available. Unless I’ve used it or know someone who has, it doesn’t get in PERIOD.

How does the gift guide work?

The guide is broken out by Category so that you can shop accordingly. This way you can pick your gift by the kind of person you’re shopping for. I know that sometimes you have to buy a gift based on a certain dollar amount or budget (like gifts for co-workers), so I’ve given you a couple of dollar amount categories too. Happy shopping and in case I don’t see you later, Happy Holidays to you and your family! You can go straight to my 2014 Holiday Gift Guide here.

 My Top 10 Picks for 2014

While the guide above has the vast majority of tech things that I like and would recommend, here are my Top 10 picks for 2014:

RAVPower Luster 6000 MAh External Smartphone/Tablet Backup Battery

RAVPowerLuster

Get it here for about $24.99

 

Westcott 42 Inch 6-In-1 Reflector Kit

westcott_6-in-1

Get it here for about $99.90

 

Westcott Rapid Box 26″ Octa for speedlights

rapid_octa

Get it here for about $159.90

Also check out the official “Terry White Travel Portrait Lighting Kit” here

 

Scott Kelby’s Digital Photography Book (Box Set – All 5 Books)

ScottKelbyDigital PhotographyBook

Get it here for about $68.17

 

Netgear Trek 300N Travel Router

netgear_trek_n300

Get it here for about $42.80

 

Wacom Intuos Pro Medium Graphics Tablet

wacom_intuos_pro

Get it here for about $309

 

Bose SoundLink Bluetooth Speaker III

bose-soundlink3

Get it here for about $299

 

DJI Phantom Vision 2+

DJI-Phantom2

Get it here for about $1,159

 

iMac with Retina 5K Display

iMacRetina5K

Get it here for about $2,299 (on sale)

 

1 Year of the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan Pre-Paid Card

CreativeCloudPhotographyPlan

Get it here for about $119.88

 

Also check out “The Only Black Friday App You Will Need“

Continue reading “My 2014 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide (web version) is Here!”

Posted on

How to Use Lightroom Mobile to Get Client Feedback on your Photos

Lightroom_totem

In this episode of Adobe Creative Cloud TV, I’ll show you how to use Lightroom Mobile to get client feedback on your photos. Find out which photos your clients like and perhaps want to purchase.

 Lightroom 5.7 and Adobe Camera RAW 8.7 Released Today!

I cover the new features of Lightroom 5.7 as they relate to Lightroom Mobile in the video above. However, there are some more things you should know:

Integrated a utility to import images from Apple Aperture and Apple iPhoto libraries into Lightroom:

  • Previously available as a separate and downloadable plug-in, this utility has now been integrated into Lightroom 5.7

New Camera Support in Lightroom 5.7

  • Canon EOS 7D Mark II
  • Canon PowerShot G7 X
  • Canon PowerShot SX60 HS
  • Casio EX-100PRO
  • Fujifilm X30
  • Fujifilm X100T
  • Fujifilm X-T1 Graphite Silver
  • Leaf Credo 50
  • Leica D-Lux (Typ 109)
  • Leica M-P
  • Leica V-Lux (Typ 114)
  • Leica X (Typ 113)
  • Nikon D750
  • Olympus PEN E-PL7
  • Olympus STYLUS 1s
  • Panasonic DMC-CM1
  • Panasonic DMC-GM1S
  • Panasonic DMC-GM5
  • Panasonic DMC-LX
  • Pentax K-S1
  • Pentax QS-1
  • Samsung NX1
  • Sony ILCE-5100
  • Sony ILCE-QX1

Newly supported cameras for Tethered Capture in Lightroom 5.7

  • Nikon D4S
  • Nikon D810

New Lens Profile Support in Lightroom 5.7

Apple iPhone 6

Apple iPhone 6 Plus

Canon EF SIGMA 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC MACRO OS HSM C014

Canon EF SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM S014

Canon EF Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8

Canon EF Zeiss Otus 1.4/85 ZE

Fujifilm X Fujifilm X100T

Fujifilm X HandeVision IBELUX 40mm F0.85

GoPro Hero

GoPro Hero4 Black Edition

GoPro Hero4 Silver Edition

Leica M Leica SUMMARIT-M 35 mm f/2.4 ASPH

Leica M Leica SUMMARIT-M 50 mm f/2.4

Leica M Leica SUMMARIT-M 75 mm f/2.4

Leica M Leica SUMMARIT-M 90 mm f/2.4

Leica M SLR Magic 50mm T0.95 Hyperprime Cine Lens

Leica M Voigtlander VM 12mm F5.6 Ultra Wide Heliar ASPH.

Leica M Voigtlander VM 15mm F4.5 Super Wide Heliar II ASPH.

Leica M Voigtlander VM 21mm F1.8 Ultron ASPH.

Leica M Voigtlander VM 21mm F4 Color Skopar

Leica M Voigtlander VM 25mm F4 Color Skopar

Leica M Voigtlander VM 28mm F2 Ultron

Leica M Voigtlander VM 35mm F1.2 Nokton II ASPH.

Leica M Voigtlander VM 35mm F1.4 Nokton Classic

Leica M Voigtlander VM 35mm F2.5 Color Skopar

Leica M Voigtlander VM 40mm F1.4 Nokton Classic

Leica M Voigtlander VM 50mm F1.1 Nokton

Leica M Voigtlander VM 50mm F1.5 Nokton

Leica M Voigtlander VM 75mm F1.8 Heliar

Leica S Leica SUMMICRON-S 100 mm f/2 ASPH.

Nikon F Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G ED

Nikon F Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 400mm f2.8E FL ED VR

Nikon F SIGMA 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC MACRO OS HSM C014

Nikon F SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM S014

Nikon F Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8

Nikon F Voigtlander SL 40mm F2 Ultron ASPHERICAL

Nikon F Voigtlander SL 40mm F2 Ultron ASPHERICAL Close-up Lens

Nikon F Zeiss Otus 1.4/85 ZF.2

Pentax HD PENTAX-DA 645 28-45mm F4.5 ED AW SR

Pentax HD PENTAX-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR

Pentax HD PENTAX-DA 20-40mm F2.8-4 Limited

Sigma SIGMA 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC MACRO OS HSM C014

Sigma SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM S014

Sony Alpha SIGMA 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC MACRO OS HSM C014

Sony Alpha SIGMA 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM A013

Sony Alpha Sony DT 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 SAM

Sony Alpha Sony DT 18-70mm F3.5-5.6

Sony Alpha Sony DT 55-200mm F4-5.6

Sony Alpha Sony 75-300mm F4.5-5.6

Sony Alpha Sony 300mm F2.8 G SSM

Sony Alpha Sony 500mm F4 G SSM

Sony E HandeVision IBELUX 40mm F0.85

Sony E SLR Magic 50mm F0.95 Hyperprime Lens

Sony E Sony FE 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS

Sony E Sony FE PZ 28-135mm F4 G OSS

Sony E Zeiss Loxia Biogon T* 2/35

Sony E Zeiss Loxia Planar T* 2/50

Bugs Corrected in Lightroom 5.7

  • The crop overlay displayed an intermediate step when progressing through images in the filmstrip with overlay displayed.
  • The lens profile for the Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 would not auto-select when using Lens Profile Corrections.
  • ICC profiles resulted in incorrectly clipped shadows and blacks in Lightroom. Note that this is related to the issue identified here and only occurs on Mac OSX 10.9 and later
  • Fixed crash when rapidly adding corrections with the Spot Removal tool.
  • Fixed bug that prevented the Filter Brush cursor from displaying while changing brush size when the Graduated and Radial Filter overlay is turned off.
  • Improved quality of Camera Matching color profiles for the Nikon D810. Fixes visible banding issues with the Camera Standard, Camera Vivid, Camera Landscape, and Camera Monochrome profiles.
  • (http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/lightroom_5_icc_profiles_clipped_shadows_under_osx)
  • Context menu (right click on PC or control+click on Mac) was disabled for images contained in Lightroom mobile collections.
  • Fixed issue that prevented Lightroom 5 from reading Photoshop Elements 13 libraries.
  • Cover images set by Lightroom mobile were sometimes incorrectly reset by Lightroom desktop.
  • Sync with Lightroom mobile sometimes stalled when asset is added to same album on both LrM and LrD and later deleted
  • Resolved issue that caused Lightroom to crash when creating a Print and saving it to a mounted DVD directly inside Lightroom.
  • Publishing images to Behance using the Behance Publish Service has been restored.

Download Links

Lightroom 5.7:

Mac  |  Win

Adobe Camera RAW 8.7

ACR 8.7 now supports HiDPI displays on Windows. Please use the following steps to enabled HiDPI on Windows:

  • Go to Photoshop -> Preferences -> Experimental Features
  • Click on “Scaled UI 200% for high-density displays”

Bug Fixes:

  • Fixed crash when rapidly adding corrections with the Spot Removal tool.
  • Fixed bug that prevented the Filter Brush cursor from displaying while changing brush size when the Graduated and Radial Filter overlay is turned off.
  • Improved quality of Camera Matching color profiles for the Nikon D810. Fixes visible banding issues with the Camera Standard, Camera Vivid, Camera Landscape, and Camera Monochrome profiles.

Please note – If you have trouble updating to the latest ACR update via the Creative Cloud application, please refer to this installation note.

DNG Converter 8.7

Mac   |   Win

Are you missing out on my Bonus Content?

See more of my Adobe Creative Cloud Videos on my Adobe Creative Cloud TV and get the App below. It features EXCLUSIVE CONTENT that no one else gets to see.  My iOS App is a Universal App for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. I also have an Android version on the Amazon App Store:

.

 




Posted on

My 2014 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide is Here and it’s an EPUB

 

2014HGGG-Mac-iPad-iPhone

Each year I put together my picks for the best Gadget Gifts to get that special someone on your Holiday Gift List. This year I decided to practice what I’ve been preaching and I’m releasing the guide as a cross platflorm interactive fixed layout EPUB 3.0 document as well as the web version. I built the the guide using Adobe InDesign CC. It’s interactive with videos, links and animation. The EPUB is a free download and while it’s focused on my top picks, you can access the full guide in the App as well (although it’s still being updated).

Yes, It’s Cross Platform!

The best part is that this year’s guide is completely cross platform and works on desktop/notebook computers as well as mobile devices. If you’re on a Mac, iPad or iPhone then you already have what you need to open it. The iBooks App that is native to Mac OS X and iOS works great with EPUB 3.0 documents. If you’re on Windows, Android or another platform you can download an EPUB 3.o reader here.

Download my 2014 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide Here:

epub_document
93.3MB (give it a minute)

I’ll be releasing the full version of my 2014 Guide on the web next week.

Posted on

My New Favorite Travel WiFi Router

wpid14051-IMG_3946_sm.jpg

I’ve traveled religiously with an Apple AirPort Express Base Station for years. It’s portable, it’s fast, and pain free in terms of setup. It just works. However, there’s one thing that made me look for a new solution. More and more hotel rooms and locations that I’m in on the road are now WiFi Only, meaning that newer hotel rooms are no longer equipped with wired ethernet jacks. Even those rooms that do have the wired ethernet ports are often disconnected. Sure I could just connect my devices to the WiFi network offered but that offers a set of challenges that I was avoiding by bringing my own router in the 1st place. When you connect to the hotel WiFi (free or paid) chances are each device has to go through a sign-in, login, accept the terms process. Usually this login is only good on average for up to 24 hours before having to repeat the process for each device each day. On the other hand if I connect my own WiFi router (hotspot) then I use one device to sign on/login etc. and all the other devices on my network can surf freely without the need to have to sign on/login individually.

Why the AirPort Express is no longer the solution

The AirPort Express is great and even the newer form factor has grown on me, however the AirPort Express requires a wired connection to the internet in order to work. If I’m in a hotel with WiFi only the AirPort Express has to go back in my bag. Sure the AirPort Express can be used to extend an existing “AirPort network”, but I have yet to see a hotel equipped with AirPort Base Stations, let alone the access needed to make that kind of configuration work.

Netgear built the WiFi Travel Router I was looking for

The Netgear Trek  N300 does the one extra thing I need. It allows you to connect to an existing WiFi network and then share that connection via the WiFi network that it creates. Having my cake and eating it too. It can work in either a wired or wireless setup. If there is an Ethernet jack in the room then the Netgear Trek N300 can plug into it and route it just like the AirPort Express. However, if there is only a WiFi network you can have the Trek N300 join it and share it creating your own private password protected WiFi hotspot for the rest of your devices/guests.

How does it work?

As you might expect the setup requires a couple of extra steps when connecting it to an existing WiFi network. The first thing you’ll do is simply configure it with a web browser to set up the wireless network for your devices to connect to. Let’s say for example you want to create a network called “Get off my LAN”. Once you set that up with a password you’re all set to travel. Once you get to your hotel room or other public WiFi area, just power the Trek N300 up using the built-in foldout plug or plug in a standard micro USB cable (it comes with it) and power it via USB. This is a very nice touch because I don’t have to have an extra free wall outlet available. I can power it using my Anker 40w 5 port USB charger/power source.

netgear_wifi_page

Now simply connect to it from any of your devices. Bring up your web browser and enter the address of your Trek N300. Signin with your admin password and from there you will see a list of the visible WiFi networks to choose from. Choose the public network that you wish to connect to and you will likely be prompted by the public WiFi’s login page. Login as you normally would if you were connecting to this network directly, but you are actually connecting the Trek N300 to it. Once you’ve successfully logged in or paid your Netgear Trek N300 will be online and able to route that WiFi connection to your private WiFi network “Get off my LAN” for all your other devices/guests to connect to.

This Router/Range Extender works GREAT, especially after I upgraded it to the latest firmware. Unfortunately it won’t speed up a painfully slow hotel WiFi connection, but it will make it less painful for you to use by eliminating device limits and multiple device logins. Also it will give you one more layer of security because all of your devices will be behind the Netgear firewall and not visible to the public WiFi network.

The Bottom Line

netgear_trek_n300

The Netgear Trek N300 didn’t disappoint. I’m using it this week on the road as I write this post from my room at a Hampton Inn. There are no ethernet ports here in the rooms and without the Trek N300 I would have had to connect each device to the hotel public WiFi and sign in each device separately. You get an extra Ethernet port on it to connect wired devices too.

Also when you compare the price to the AirPort Express it’s a no brainer.

You can get the Netgear Trek N300 on sale here.

They also have an iOS App to manage it that you can download here for iPhone:

.

Or here for iPad:

.