CHANCES are your home has at least two computing systems - a desktop PC and laptop that talk to each other via a router so they can share the Internet connection.
In fact, given the proliferation of gizmos that most people have today - cellphones, digital cameras and handheld gaming consoles - the need to link or network these devices becomes more important.

Also, you don't want a tangle of cables running around everywhere from the study to the living room.

Enter the wireless router, which can be had for the price of a branded DVD player (about $200).

Standard features that are usually incorporated into a router are:

NAT (Network Address Translation) - allows you to subscribe for one IP address and then share the connectivity with other devices.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Control Protocol) - allows for the automatic distribution of private IP addresses to the connecting device(s).

Firewall, wireless access and USB printer sharing - good for intrusion protection, sharing and reducing wire clutter.
Many routers now also include NAS or network address storage, which is essentially shared storage, so that you can park files directly on the network, bypassing a server.

And soup-ups include Web servers, BitTorrent clients and multimedia streaming servers.

These make it easy for non-techies to set up simple websites for sharing files, receiving music and downloading movies even when the PC is off, and sharing multimedia content with other streaming devices like the Xbox or PlayStation.

Digital Life tested three devices, each having the common feature of shared USB storage.

The base station was placed at the far corner of a five-room HDB flat and a notebook PC at the opposite end, 12m away.

Effectively, the signals from notebook to base station had to pass through three bedroom walls and its doors. The idea is to block the direct line-of-sight transmission to give a fair picture of how well the wireless function works.

Asus WL-700gE
$388
Rating: 8/10

THE WL-700gE is the only router of the three with a built-in hard drive, all 160GB of it. The unit does away with the external AC/DC power adapter, so you use the standard AC power mains connection which is simpler.

You can place it flat or standing. In a vertical position, the gadget stands in its base, reminiscent of the Nintendo Wii stand.

This orientation works well as it keeps the unit cool - a requirement for routers with a built-in hard drive.

In features, the Asus WL-700gE is like the Swiss Army knife. A built-in Web server offers a message board, photo album, ftp (File Transfer Protocol), iTunes server and UPnP AV server.

There is also a built-in downloader for http, ftp and BitTorrent protocols. So, you can download content offline - that is, when you turn off your system. The Web server can be configured to serve an internal Intranet or serve the public Internet using a fixed IP address or via Dynamic DNS (DDNS).

Although the WL-700gE lacks the newer 802.11n (Draft) Wi-Fi specification and Gigabit Ethernet ports, the design and features make it a great portal device.

It's suitable for an advanced home user or a small business owner looking to centralise content management, share a printer, and provide an online interactive message board and picture sharing website without having to know the ins and outs of building and hosting a full-blown Web server.

Linksys WRT-350N
$229
Rating: 7/10

SETTING up the WRT-350N was a breeze using the illustrated instructions provided. There are even warning stickers stuck to the router to guide you.

The CD includes an interactive setup wizard to ensure you get it right the first time - even your grandmother could do it.

But if you loathe reading manuals and are familiar with the Linksys user interface, you can easily dive in by going to the default private IP address - 192.168.1.1 - used by Linksys.

The shared USB storage, ftp server and media server are easy to set up via the configuration setup Storage Tab.

Once configured it is only a matter of accessing the share, like a Windows Workgroup network resource, the ftp server using an ftp client, and the media server through a media streaming client.

It is a pity the unit does not include a USB printer share - otherwise this would make for a device that could be highly recommended for the small home or office.

Worth mentioning is the reduced size of the power supply brick.

A bane because of its size before, it has been shrunk to the size of a name card box.

Apple Airport Extreme
$288
Rating: 6.5/10

THERE'S no built-in hard drive: You have the option to connect a hard drive with a capacity of your choosing.

As there is only one USB port, you'll need to add a USB hub for the other gadgets like a printer that will need to connect to it.

Strangely, this router cannot stream music like its brother, the Apple Airport Express, can.

Unlike most router devices, the Airport Extreme requires a special (included) utility software to make configuration changes.

Without it, expect a hard time getting the Airport Extreme configured because the Windows utility software is not available online as a direct download.

Setting up the USB shared storage and shared USB printer was easy using the included utility.

The steps required were simple. Locate the available storage and enable the share.

The shared storage can then be located and accessed using the Windows Network.

By Chester Chen, a PC enthusiast and freelance writer

This article was first published in Digital Life, The Straits Times on Apr 1, 2008.