The MacBook and the MacBook Pros have never been known for having great Wi-Fi reception. We all try to find the best Wi-Fi reception available, whether it’s in our own home or at the local coffee shop. If someone told us that we could increase the range and the strength of our Wi-Fi signals, we’d jump at the chance.
hField Technologies think they have an answer to our Wi-Fi problems, the Wi-Fire. The Wi-Fire is a compact, range-extending USB device that enables you to access a wireless Internet connection from up to 1,000 feet away–three times the range of your internal wireless adapter. According to hField Technologies, The Wi-Fire Connection Manager reveals all available networks in the area–more than you’ve ever seen without the Wi-Fire. Simply rotate the Wi-Fire to maximize the signal strength for one of your desired networks, select the strongest available network – public access or private and encrypted – and then click connect.
The Wi-Fire uses a powerful directional antenna, highly sensitive receiver and proprietary software to find and enhance normal WiFi signals. With it, you can connect wirelessly to the Internet–even at low signal strengths–faster, more reliably and with a more consistently strong connection–than you are able to with an internal wireless adapter.
The Wi-Fire draws very little power from your laptop battery. It comes complete with everything you need to connect wirelessly to the Internet. Just install the Wi-Fire Connection Manager, plug the Wi-Fire into an available USB port and you’re ready to start. It can rest on any flat surface, laptop display or flat screen monitor.
What did I find? First I was very happy with the software (Connection Manager) that came with the Wi-Fire. It displayed an updating list of connections along with their strength and the information could be displayed over time on a graph. But the key to the Wi-Fire is the USB antenna. When I had it pointed at the signal, I found the strength increased and I found connections that where not available with just the built in antenna in my MacBook Pro. But I also found that the antenna was very touchy and had to be pointed exactly at the source to make a difference. Therefore, when I sat in a cafe looking for available Wi-Fi, I found that I had to rotate the antenna until I located a signal and then kept that position to keep from losing the signal.
The retail on the Wi-Fire is $59.00. You can find more about it at the hField Technologies Web site: http://www.hfield.com/the-wi-fire . If you have a weak home connection or if you need to grab a specific signal where you can set up the antenna to point in the exact location of the signal, I’d say the Wi-Fire is a good choice for you. For general increased Wi-Fi reception and signal strength, you might do better for the money if you look around.
Tags: hField, macbook, macbook pro, wi-Fi, Wi-Fire
