TRENDnet Launches User Friendly Wireless Range Extender

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This device will extend your current home or office network, offering wireless speeds up to 300 Mbps.

Looking for a way to extend your current wireless network? Is your smartphone or tablet unable to access the internet while you're sitting on the thinking chair? Part of TRENDnet's 2012 lineup is the 300 Mbps Easy-N Range Extender (TEW-736RE), a small device designed to eliminate those pesky dead spots and possibly bring Wireless N networking glory to the other side of the house.

As the name implies, the most you'll get out of this particular network extender is 300 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band. Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna technology maintains a high bandwidth connection to a router or access point while increasing the overall wireless coverage. LED displays convey device and port status for easy troubleshooting.

"Setup takes minutes, with no drivers to install. Position the TEW-736RE in an area of low wireless coverage," the company said on Tuesday. "Then simply press the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) button on your router or access point, then on the TEW-736RE and you're done-the 300 Mbps Easy-N Range Extender is now extending your high performance wireless N network in an area with previously low to no wireless coverage."

TRENDnet's new extender fits right in with the company's current 450 Mbps wireless networking lineup despite its slower speed. At the heart of the lineup is the 450 Mbps Concurrent Dual Band Wireless N Router (TEW-692GR) which provides 450 Mbps speeds on both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands at the same time. Because most laptops and desktops don't come packed with dual-band Wi-Fi support, the company also offers the USB-based 450 Mbps Dual Band Wireless N USB Adapter (TEW-684UB).

For connecting other devices spread throughout the house, there's the 450 Mbps Dual Band Wireless N HD Media Bridge (TEW-680MB) aimed at devices that need to sling HD content through the air including game consoles, internet televisions and more. This "bridge" connects to the devices via Gigabit Ethernet while sending and receiving data to the router via Wi-Fi (the 5 GHz band works best). There’s also the 450 Mbps Wireless N Gaming Adapter (TEW-687GA) designed specifically for game consoles without a Wi-Fi adapter, and the 450 Mbps Wireless N Access Point (TEW-690AP) which costs a bit more than the 300 Mbps Easy-N Range Extender, but offers those faster speeds.

The 300 Mbps Easy-N Range Extender is available now for $59.99 USD.

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Kevin Parrish

Kevin started taking PCs apart in the 90s when Quake was on the way and his PC lacked the required components. Since then, he’s loved all things PC-related and cool gadgets ranging from the New Nintendo 3DS to Android tablets. He is currently a contributor at Digital Trends, writing about everything from computers to how-to content on Windows and Macs to reviews of the latest laptops from HP, Dell, Lenovo, and more. 

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8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Ragnar-Kon
    Not to me Mr. Negative or anything, but if it anything like my past experiences with Trendnet's products, it'll either work okay, or just not work at all.

    Also $60 is too pricey for me, I would be looking for one around $40-$45.
    Reply
  • CaedenV
    just in time for the new wireless standard companies finally come out with products to extend the life of a dying technology
    Reply
  • hoof_hearted
    Powerline networking works best for extending your wireless bubble. Also, if you got rid of your landline, the exisiting phone wiring typically has four wires which can move ethernet.
    Reply
  • UmeNNis
    Using typical 4 conductor phone lines for ethernet is a poor to terrible idea. As a worker in the telephone industry, I will tell you that A) most phone wiring in peoples homes are in terrbile shape, often hardly worth using even for voice transfer, B) four conductor lines have NO TWISTS, and as such you will experience an incredible amount of errors (=significantly lower throughput), and C) these wiring configurations in the majority of homes will have some sort of short, open, or some other problem that will prohibit data transfer in such a manner.

    Bottom line: existing phone wiring, for all intents and purposes, can NOT move ethernet through your home.
    Reply
  • freggo
    CaedenVjust in time for the new wireless standard companies finally come out with products to extend the life of a dying technology
    Think about it... if they offered an 'ar' capable extender they'd be admitting that the new standard has problems or limits.
    But extending 'N' to come closer to what 'ar' can supposedly do for us would make marketing sense. I can see uses for it and $60, while a bit on the high side, may initially be accepted by the market also $49.95 would have been a smarter price.


    Reply
  • hoof_hearted
    It actually worked great in my house in a 100ft run from upstairs to downstairs. I just replaced the RJ11 wall plates with RJ45 and wired accordingly. My daughters stream Netflix from it without a hitch. However prior to that I tried wireless n (even three different wireless routers) and that was the most frustrating thing ever (might be good for webpages though).

    UmeNNisUsing typical 4 conductor phone lines for ethernet is a poor to terrible idea. As a worker in the telephone industry, I will tell you that A) most phone wiring in peoples homes are in terrbile shape, often hardly worth using even for voice transfer, B) four conductor lines have NO TWISTS, and as such you will experience an incredible amount of errors (=significantly lower throughput), and C) these wiring configurations in the majority of homes will have some sort of short, open, or some other problem that will prohibit data transfer in such a manner.Bottom line: existing phone wiring, for all intents and purposes, can NOT move ethernet through your home.
    Reply
  • hoof_hearted
    I also found that HomePNA has come a long way. This is technology designed specifically for this scenario (it puts a DSL like signal over the wires)
    Reply
  • It is $44 at Newegg.com And it is a great idea for deadspot areas, I always seem to have 1 or two. Worth it to me, I will be picking one up
    Reply