Frequent flyers owe it to themselves to pick up the Canary Wireless Digital Hotspotter. It's tiny, easy to use, and displays whether a hotspot is encrypted or not, so you don't waste your time or battery power.
At 4.5 ounces, the Digital Hotspotter is light enough to carry in your pocket. The two AAA batteries should provide about two months of regular use. The star of the show is the LCD display, which scrolls to show you the current hotspot's data. Press the button again and the device will scan for the next network.
By adding a few important features to their pocket Wi-Fi finder, Canary Wireless has made the Digital HotSpotter a top choice. With the press of a button, you can instantly review available hotspots, whether the wireless access is secure or freely available, and review which channel is being used, which helps you monitor signal interference. The Digital Hotspotter finds hotspots that use either WEP or WPA security.
Search time was quick, and the read-out was clear even in direct sunlight. The device found four hotspots in a location where it could have found nine. Of course, the fact that the device even reported the name of the four networks is reason enough to consider it over competing products, which show only the signal strength of the closest access point.
The $59 price tag might seem steep, but it's worth it to help you find out if a network is freely available or if it will cause connection headaches.
Product Capability & Comparison Chart:
The Digital Hotspotter | Analog Detectors | |
|
| Signal Availability (802.11b and 802.11g networks) |
|
| Signal Strength |
| | LCD screen |
| | Provides network ID (SSID) |
| | Detects Encryption (WEP and WPA) |
| | Provides Channel Information |
| | Provides specific information about each network when multiple networks are present |
