So my Wii LAN Adaptor (and component cables) arrived Friday. It’s pretty much an adaptor brick with a 6.5″ USB cable (8″ if you include the USB plug itself). Here are pretty much all the impressions you’ll need for now:
- It works.
- The cable connecting to the USB port is a tad short and the brick a tad light, usually making the brick lift awkwardly above the surface it’s on. Mine actually sits on its side if I don’t use the component cable to hold it down.
- Wii Shop and Opera browser load about as fast (or as slow) as before.
- Any speed difference between wireless and a direct connection are negligible.
Is it worth it if you have either a normal wireless router or the Nintendo USB Wi-Fi Connector? Probably not, unless you’re one of those types that worries about the information sent wirelessly through the air, such as credit card numbers and the like.
Or, if you don’t have a wireless connection where you live or if your school’s wireless connection won’t let your Wii (or DS) on because you have to be able to login, you’ll need either the USB Wi-Fi Connector or the LAN Adaptor, in which case the LAN Adaptor might be your connection method of choice. That is, if saving $10 is worth giving up the wireless ability of the Wii (one less cable, people).
However, this isn’t yet a thorough product review, as the Wii Shop and Opera browser are small downloads, despite taking several seconds to load on the Wii. The difference between the LAN Adaptor and the USB Wi-Fi Connector isn’t there. Maybe once I get some larger downloads to experiment on, the speed difference between a wireless connection and a lined one will start to become noticeable.
