LAS VEGAS--It's always frustrating to find a dead spot in your wireless networking. Fortunately there's now an easy and affordable fix, the new 300Mbps Easy-N Range Extender, model TEW-736RE from Trendnet.

The company introduced the new device at CES 2012 and claims that it will help extend the range of your wireless network within minutes.

According to Trendnet, all you have to do is place the TEW-736RE in an area of low wireless coverage, 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 … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Mobile Mac users now can finally say goodbye to their USB or FireWire portable drives.

Elgato showed off today at CES 2012 the first bus-powered Thunderbolt drive, the Elgato Thunderbolt SSD.

While bus-powered--a feature that allows storage devices to draw power directly from the peripheral port, negating the need for a separate power adapter--has been widely popular with USB portable drives, it has been a challenge for the Thunderbolt connection. The Thunderbolt port is slated to offer up to 10 volts of power, but because parts and pieces of the Thunderbolt interface, such as the cable itself, require energy … Read more

LAS VEGAS--There's now another true 450Mbps dual-band router on the block.

Belkin announced today at CES 2012 the Advance N900 DB Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router, model F9K1104. This is the company's top-tier wireless router, similar to the already released Linksys E4200 v2 from Cisco or the WNDR4500 of Netgear.

The router offers the new 450Mbps wireless data rate on both the 2.4Ghz and 5Gh bands. Belkin says it also support its exclusive MultiBeam Technology designed to deliver "a high-powered signal that allows for higher and more-consistent network speeds and minimizes the number of wireless dead spots.&… Read more

Heading to CES 2012, Hitachi announced today that it has added two new internal hard drives to its portfolio of external solutions.

The two drives are the 2.5-inch, 5,400rpm 1TB Travelstar 5K1000 and the 3.5-inch, 7,200rpm 4TB Deskstar 7K4000. They both support the latest SATA 3 (6Gbps) standard, will be shipped inside G-Technology-branded solutions, and are designed exclusively for Macs.

These solutions include both portable storage devices to use on the go and desktop external storage devices that offer high speed and a large amount of storage.

In the portable-drive department, there are two drives: the … Read more

The wireless router is arguably the most important piece of the networking setup at your home or your office.

It's the central gateway that connects to the Internet, then shares that connection with all of the devices connected to it, via a network cable or Wi-Fi signal. Other services depend on the router, as well, such as file sharing, voice over IP, remote access, and VPN.

A router generally has to be on and functioning 24-7. There are thousands, if not millions, of data packages going through it every day, and you expect it to work without any hiccups. Ironically, it's also the device that most people pay the least attention to. In fact, the only time it's noticed at all is when it's not working right.

That said, it's very important to pick a router that's not just fast and feature-rich, but also reliable. Following is the list of the top five wireless routers I've reviewed this year that fit that description.… Read more

Ever since iOS 4.2, when Apple introduced AirPrint, which allows for printing from iOS devices, it's been painful for many people to find out that it only works with a handful of printers.

This means when you find out that your beloved printer is not on the supported list, you have two options: get a new one or try to hack your way into making it work. Neither is as easy as the third option that Lantronix announced today, the xPrintServer.… Read more

Update: Sorry to say that this deal is invalid. Apparently Epson never meant for this promo code to be released to the general public. My apologies for the confusion.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, if you wait for the Cheapskate newsletter to arrive in your inbox, it may be too late: the deal of the day might be over or sold out. I know this can be frustrating, but it's beyond my control. As always, your best bet is to visit the site in the morning, typically around 9-10 a.m. ET.

I mention that … Read more

Your iMac is running out of peripheral ports, and you still want to add an external hard drive and a few other devices to it? Iomega has something for you.

The company introduced today its first external hard drive, called Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive, that also comes with two USB ports that you can plug your iOS-based devices into to charge and sync with the Mac. The ports can also be used with other USB devices, such as printers or other external storage devices.

Basically, the Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive is an external desktop hard drive that also … Read more

I reviewed the Iomega Home Media Network Drive awhile ago and found it to be a very good NAS server for home users. Iomega announced an upgraded version of this product today, and it seems even better.

The new Home Media Network Drive shares the same physical design as the previous model. It comes with two USB ports (front and back) and one Gigabit network port. Iomega, however, says that it's now equipped with improved internal hardware based on a dual-core processor that allows for much faster performance.

Most significantly, however, is the fact that it's one of … Read more