6. Conclusions

Neither of the devices we tested in this review is perfect - neither of them positively and correctly identified Wi-Fi signals 100 percent of the time. They both did, however, identify signals properly most of the time, and they both likely would save users the time and effort of booting up a PC just to see if there is wireless access in an area.

The Kensington WiFi Finder Plus really is a simple device, and could be the right fit for certain uses. For more robust identification, though, the StarTek WIFIDETG Wi-Fi Detector is a reasonable choice. Its greatest drawback is likely power use, and lack of a facility to use some kind of easily replaceable battery. Sure, it’s great to be able to just recharge via USB, but that’s not always an option. It also would have been helpful to have an auto shutoff as well as some kind of power switch lock, since it’s easy for the device to stay on by accident while it’s sitting in your pocket.

Thus far, 802.11n has not yet really made its way into public hotspots, so only having 802.11b/g isn’t a major shortcoming - yet.

Those minor issues aside, over the course of our testing period, we found the Wi-Fi Detectot to be an invaluable aid in locating hotspots without a PC.