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Thomson SpeedTouch 545
Price: £94 inc VAT

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 22/07/2004
Featured in magazine:
Issue 88
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: Thomson
Web Address: www.speedtouch.co.uk


When it comes to choosing a device to connect your computer to your broadband connection, the decision can be difficult to make. Should you go for a modem for one computer or a router to share the connection between more than one? Should you stick to a wired device or go down the Wi-Fi route? Well, for the terminally indecisive, the Thomson SpeedTouch 545 has it all – a standard modem and router combo with the option for a wireless upgrade. We tested it complete with the wireless capability, but you can always start wired and upgrade later if you wish.

Features
The magic here is in the form of the PC Card slot, like those you get on a laptop computer, sitting on the back of the device. This means you can slot in a SpeedTouch Wi-Fi card (an extra £23) if you want to get a wireless connection, but it still has the Ethernet ports to connect four PCs into it using standard networking cables. If you are using Wi-Fi it comes pre-configured with a secure 26-digit password, printed on a sticker on the bottom of the device. You can change this later, but it's good news to have a Wi-Fi router that's secure from the moment you plug it in.

Performance
Cable connection is as fast as you'd expect, though Thomson only supplies 11Mbps wireless cards to plug into the device, which is a shame since the newer and faster 54Mbps standard is probably what most people will be interested in connecting to it.

Ease of use
The device isn't lacking on the ease of use front either. The most complicated thing about the set-up procedure of the wireless version is copying the 26-digit code from the bottom of the device onto the computer you're setting it up for. Once you can connect to the unit (which is as soon as you've plugged in the cable if you're using the wired version) you can start configuring the device using the simple wizard. The only information you'll need is your broadband username and password.

Value for money
This isn't the cheapest device of its kind, especially if you add on the price of a wireless card and consider that it uses only the 11Mbps rather than the 54Mbps standard. However, it is very easy to set up and use, and has that all-important security, should these kinds of things be more important to you than price.

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