Gadget review: Take it slow and easy

When it comes to gadgets and gizmos, routers are probably the least appealing of them all. While they are enablers of all things good, including Facebook and YouTube and the rest of the internet, these black boxes, once configured, are quickly forgotten. Of course, given the pain of getting them working in the first place, it is no wonder most users never want to look at them again.

But that has changed in recent times; The Linksys E3000 router includes a disk that guides you through the process of setting up your router including securing your wireless connection, as compared to leaving it open for anyone to access freely. But there seems to be a bit of a disconnect between the router software and the web interface, wherein, if you use the latter to make changes, it breaks the link between the computer and the software.

Linksys seems to have made an assumption that users will manage the router in only one manner and not both.

The router also has a feature which allows your guests to access the internet. Although limited, it does seem to get the job done. Like most routers on the shelves, the E3000 is 802.11n compliant. The router offered a pretty good range and I found coverage in all the corners of my home, and even outside.

The router has a USB port. You can connect your hard drive to it and share it across all the computers on the network. The data-transfer speed on this is rather slow so you'll have a less-than-pleasant experience.

If you have a disk with movies and/or music connected to the router, it can act as a media server so you can stream content to any of your devices connected to the network; however, the speed issues come into play (pun unintended), especially with larger media files.

While the media server is a great idea, more could have been done around the USB port, such as sharing your printer across the network. This feature isn't ground-breaking and the lack of it may be a deal breaker for some, though.

The E3000 falls short of its potential, which is such a shame since most of its shortcomings could have been addressed — had a little more thought gone into it. Given that there may be other routers available at a similar price point, it's hard to justify the Dh799 purchase of the E3000.

Bhavishya Kanjhan is a digital marketing professional and an early adopter of all things digital. Follow his tweets on @bhavishya