Looking for a quick and simple way to locate a wireless access point without having to wear a light-up shirt? In this modern hour of virtual offices, high-travel days and “working” remotely, being able to secure online access to keep up with your emails and latest web news while you’re on the go is becoming more of an issue. Not that we don’t love our highly portable laptops, but there’s something uniquely frustrating about sitting at a coffee shop hoping to get caught up over a cup of chai tea and only being able to find 5 wireless networks, all of which are asking for a password.
So save yourself the trouble of circling for a parking spot, paying $5 for flavored water, and elbowing your way through crowds only to be digitally shut out — try the WiFi Walker, an all in one 802.11b/g WiFi finder and USB adapter.
The backlit LCM display shows detailed information about the list of wireless hotspots in range — including name, signal strength, encryption, SSID, security status and AP number — so you can easily suss out whether or not there are open signals for use wherever you are.
The USB Adapter is also prepared to plug directly into your laptop for charging (no batteries, just juice!) and will double as a wireless adapter in case you’re working with a laptop that didn’t come with a wireless card (hey, it happens).
The packaging is both sleek and durable — no cheap plastics used here — though we really wish they would’ve added a loop to the business end so it could be tethered to something while not in use.
Check out the video to see the Walker at work:
And then there’s the WiFi Seeker, a boiled-down version of the Walker — no big display, just a series of sweeping LED lights (sort of like the EMF detectors you see on ghost hunting shows) that can detect wireless access points within 300 feet.
Just press the big blue button and wait for the red lights to stop sweeping and remain lit — if the red lights don’t stop, you’re in a dead zone, if only 1 or 2 bars stay lit things look shaky, but 3 or 4 bars means you’re good to go. Plus they definitely thought about mobility and threw a thick key ring on the end, making it easy to attach to your cluster of keys or travel case for regular use on the fly.
If you’re ready to buy one of your own (or add to someone’s gift list), WiFi Walker starts at $59.95, and the Seeker’s a bargain at $14.95, both available directly from wifiseeker.com.
