DSL-2890AL Dual Band Wireless AC1750 Gigabit Cloud ADSL2+ Modem Router product reviews

This is by far the best modem I have had the opportunity to use. Set up was a breeze and I was underway within a few minutes of unboxing. First up the appearance of the unit is very different from the usual rectangular modems I am accustomed to. The upright glossy black cylinder looks fantastic and is a breath of fresh air when comparing it to older designs. Sleek, shiny, and without the ugly antennas we are all used to seeing.

For some people setting up a new modem is a daunting task. I have done this a few times now and consider myself to have a reasonable idea what I'm doing. I decided to fire ahead without the use of the installation disc to see how I fared. If you aren't sure what you are doing then definitely pop the disc in and follow the step by step instructions. For me it was a simple matter of obtaining the details from my ISP (available on their website) along with my login details. Long story short, I logged in to the router, entered the relevant details, ticked some boxes and was away laughing.

This device offers dual band wifi. What this means is that it broadcasts on 2 frequencies rather than just the standard 2.4GHZ that most operate on. We now have 2.4GHZ and 5GHZ. The advantage to this is reliability. Tons of wireless devices operate on and around the 2.4GHZ frequency these days which means interference is going to be an issue at some stage. Even your innocent looking cordless phone is likely to be a culprit, causing your wifi to suffer drop outs and make data transfers slow. You can choose to have the 5GHZ on or off to suit your own preference as not all devices offer 5GHZ at present but it is becoming more common.

Before I swapped out my old modem I used a WiFi signal meter around the house to see what the signal strength was like. I had already encountered problems with little to no signal in my office and bedroom and had resorted to a home made "sail" made of cardboard and tin foil to direct the wifi signal to where I needed it. This had helped substantially but was incredibly ugly in the lounge. I can't place my modem in a better spot as I only have one functional phone jack. It seems that Lex Luthor may have built this house with lead walls to prevent superman from seeing what he was up to. With the DSL-2890AL I now achieve great signal strength all through the house without any home made contraptions. 10 points D-Link. I also have a wifi printer in my home office which is working faultlessly now.

The D-Link DSL-2890AL offers USB connectivity with a USB2 port and a USB3 port. I have connected a 500GB external HDD via USB which means I can access the files with my iPad and smartphone using the MyDLink Shareport app (free for IOS and Android). Awesome for listening to my music or watching movies stored on the HDD. The app also offers remote access if you register a MyDLink account online so will be extremely handy if you need documents or files while on the go and makes sense for home or for business use. I love not having to mess around transferring files directly onto my devices enabling me to use the limited device storage for other things. A printer can be connected via the USB as well to enable care free network printing.

I also found that the data transfer rates were fantastic. Good connection speed is vital when playing games online. If only it could improve my aim on Black Ops!

You can probably tell that I love this new modem/router from D-Link. The functions it offers make for a great device that will suit pretty much any application. For me the best points are the strong reliable wifi signal and stealthy looks, coupled with great data transfer speed. Really what more can I ask for?