Introduction

We all know about wireless; we have all seen wireless access points and routers. They all look about the same with a few minor aesthetic differences. However, they do not have to look the same as we found out a few weeks ago. On that day we received a very interesting package in the post. It was from TRENDnet and contained one of the more interesting networking products I have played around with.

The device in question, called the TEW-653AP, looks more like a smoke detector than what it really is. In reality it is a very functional wireless access point that can be run on Power over Ethernet and supports the Wireless Distribution System. You have heard us talk about both of these before, so you know that these are becoming more prevalent in the consumer market. But the TEW-653AP has more inside its little round body than just PoE and WDS; it is a full 802.11n spec router with SNMP, a DHCP server, a scheduler for power saving, usage monitoring, multiple SSID support (using VLANs), and the list goes on.

At $108.19 (after instant savings) from NewEgg.com it is a little more expensive than your average AP; but then again, it does so much more.