March 28, 2014 by

Kinivo WID380 Wireless 300MBPS Enhanced USB Adapter

Screen Shot 2014-03-28 at 2.22.41 PMMost of the computers that are sold these days come with WiFi connectivity by default. However, many of us still have an older computer or two that has no such functionality. Fortunately, instead of having to go through the hassle of installing a separate internal card, nowadays a simple USB WiFi adapter can do the trick. There are many such adapters available these days, but I’ve found Kinivo WID380 to be one of the most reliable and effective ones out there.

I’ve used WID380 exclusively with two Windows 8.1 computers – a Dell desktop and an HP laptop. This adapter comes with a small CD which contains all of the necessary drivers, but I did not need to use it with either one of my two computers. Both of them recognized WID380 immediately and I was able to use it within minutes.

I was able to immediately log into my home WiFi network. My network currently supports two signals – the n standard and the new ac standard. This dongle was compatible with the n standard.

One of the neatest things about the design of this WiFi dongle are its antennas. I haven’t seen many such dongles with antennas, and the ones I’ve seen are usually very bulky and inelegant. The WID380 antennas, on the other hand, fold smoothly in a very streamlined kind of way when not in use, keeping the overall profile of this dongle very compact. The antennas can be extended in a variety of ways – either directly up when the dongle is placed vertically on the USB stand, or under a right angle when the dongle is attached on the side in a horizontal way. The antennas help boost the range of the dongle, and help with the sensitivity.

I’ve used this dongle with my Windows 8.1 laptop all over the house, and even in its immediate vicinity. I own a Netgear Nighthawk wireless router, which gives me a very strong signal throughout my home and backyard. The combination of the signal strenght and the sensitivity of this WiFi adapter ensured that I was able to be online smoothly and without any hitches wherever I found myself. In terms of sensitivity and reliability this is probably as good of a WiFi n-standard USB adapter as one will come across.

This is indeed a very high quality USB WiFi adapter that will greatly increase the functionality of your old PC. Highly recommended.

 

About the Author

Bojan Tunguz

Bojan Tunguz was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he and his family fled during the civil war for the neighboring Croatia. Over the past two decades he has studied, lived and worked in the United States. He is a theoretical physicist with degrees from Stanford and University of Illinois. Tunguz has taught physics at several prominent liberal arts colleges and has been writing about physics, science and technology for more than a decade. He also has a wide spectrum of interests, and reads and writes about current events, society, culture, religion and politics. Over the years he has reviewed many of the books that he has read, and posted his reviews on various online outlets. In 2011 he had become a top 10 reviewer on Amazon.com, where he continues to be very active. Aside from reading and writing, Tunguz enjoys traveling, digital photography, hiking, and fitness. He resides with his wife in Indiana. You can follow my review updates on the following pages as well: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tunguzreview Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tunguzreviews Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104312842297641697463/posts

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