We use these adapters for our projects in remote and hazardous environments in Alaska. We had to choose a USB-Ethernet adapter that could withstand cold temperatures and continue to operate. It also had to be able to withstand some abuse as the shipping from the lower 48 to Alaska can be brutal on sensitive equipment. You would think that finding a USB/Ethernet adapter to meet these needs would be easy, but we were very happy when this adapter was released.

The Good:
Great design that has withstood strenuous shipping with no problem. The Ethernet end easily holds the Ethernet cable with no problems of a loose cable.

Has operated down to 0 Fahrenheit with no problems or loss of speed.

We had one remote desktop computer that got infected with a virus and we had to reinstall Windows to fix the problem. We left the USB/Ethernet driver CD back at our main office and we were relieved to find that the driver is easily available online. We found it here:

http://members.driverguide.com/driver/detail.php?driverid=52382

Re-installing the driver was a piece of cake and we were happy to be able to get the driver easily. Many thanks to Belkin for allowing their drivers to be readily available.

The Bad:
USB 1.1 uses two speeds:
LowSpeed (1.5 Mbits/second, approximately 192 Kilobyte/sec)
and
FullSpeed (12 Mbits/second, approximately 1.5 Megabyte/sec).

Compared to USB 2.0(480Mbits/second, approximately 60 Megabyte/sec), this is considerably slower. USB 2.0 is also called Hi-Speed. Confusing enough? You would think they would choose better names than Full and Hi speed.

The Ethernet end is a little bulky, which might bother some consumers. This didn't bother me at all.

Summary:
This is a great rugged USB Adapter, but it is slowly getting outdated by USB 2.0 devices. But if speed is not your first concern, it is a great choice. This adapter comes from a great company that makes its products as easy to use as possible.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 26.95
Driver Availability: Windows only