We admire the simplicity of HomePlug networking products, but they’re not known for their elegant design. If you’d prefer to buy something a little neater for your bijou warehouse apartment then Netgear’s PowerLine Nano500 Set should appeal. See also D-Link W307AV PowerLine Homeplug AV Wireless N Starter Kit review.
As the name implies, the Nano500 is a lot smaller than most HomePlug products. Each of the two adaptors measures just 67x55x42mm – barely half the size of most conventional HomePlug adaptors. See all Wi-Fi and networking reviews.
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They’re very simply designed too, with a single Ethernet port on the base of each adaptor and a security button that you can press to create an encrypted network. Visit Devolo dLAN 200 AV Wireless N review.
It’s easy to add additional adaptors too, although there’s no software supplied with the kit that would allow more knowledgeable users to configure the network settings for themselves.
Performance is good, though. The Nano500 Set provides speeds of up to 500Mbps and transferred our 1GB file at 112.2Mbps during our tests.
There’s also a clever Pick A Plug feature that allows each adaptor to test the speed of the mains socket that it is plugged into. An LED on the front of each adaptor indicates the speed for you, allowing you to choose the socket that provides the best speed.
Our only real complaint is that this rather expensive kit allows you to connect only single device to your network per adaptor. However, there’s also a less expensive 200Mbps version that will still be fast enough for most people.
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