The capacity of USB flash drives has risen steeply, with 16GB becoming common place. The GigaRunner might seem small at 4GB, but this drive has some network-enabled tricks up its sleeve.

Most of us have hard drives 500GB or more these days, so while we might be able to fit a lot of our important files and folders on a flash drive, the ideal of having access to any of our files from another system is still a distant one.

Of course, there's cloud backup and synchronisation services but if you're after anything more than 20GB of space things start getting expensive.

The GigaRunner's 4GB space isn't much to write home about but it's the GigaRunner software which is really interesting. After a quick setup, creating a server on our main PC, we were able to plug the USB stick into another PC and browse and download any file from our main rig.

It worked really well, and the interface made it easy to navigate files and folders from our remote computer.

Files you download and then edit can't be uploaded back onto your main PC. This is where the 4GB capacity comes into play.

Another drawback is that your main PC needs to be constantly on and connected to the internet.

We're big fans of Devolo's powerline networking adaptors, so we had high hopes for the Devolo dLAN 500 AVtriple+. The Devolo dLAN 500 AVplus and the Devolo dLAN 200 AV Wireless N Starter Kit both received glowing reviews from us, and even the Devolo dLAN 200 AV USB Extender was well received.

All of those networking devices might have had their ups and downs, but there were certain things that remained consistent, namely their solid build quality, ease of use and handy software in the shape of Devolo's dLAN Cockpit, which makes it easy to set up and monitor a home powerline network.

In a lot of ways it's a similar kit to the Devolo dLAN 500 AVplus. Speeds between the two adaptors that come with the kit can reach a maximum of 500Mbps - far faster than the standard 200Mbps of a lot of its competitors, but slower than the blistering 1Gbps offered by the Netgear Powerline AV+ 500.

Streaming high definition content to one device was handled with aplomb, and with multiple devices connected and streaming, it hardly wavered.

The key difference between the Devolo dLAN 500 AVtriple+ and the Devolo dLAN 500 AVplus (along with a lot of its other competitors) is that one of the adaptors comes with three gigabit Ethernet ports, which turns it into a very speedy networking switch. It also allows you to connect three wired devices to the adaptor - rather than one - eliminating the need to buy extra adaptors.

Verdict

The Devolo dLAN 500 AVtriple+ comes at a high price, at over £100 in the UK or $160 in the US, so is certainly at the higher end of the powerline adaptor market in terms of cost. But if you're after a speedy network across your home and have a few devices that need to be connected, then it's going to be money well spent.

Western Digital WD Livewire doesn't look like other network powerline adaptors such as the Devolo dLAN 500 AVplus. For a start, it doesn't plug directly into a wall power socket. Instead, it's a small box that connects to the power socket via a cable. It's not as elegant a solution as other powerline adaptors, especially ones that have integrated follow-through sockets - which means you don't have to sacrifice a socket when installing them.

However, it does give you a bit more flexibility on where to place the unit, since the power cable is long enough to tuck the Western Digital WD Livewire out of sight. It was especially useful for installing the Western Digital WD Livewire in awkwardly-placed power sockets where we've had trouble using the bulkier powerline adaptors.

The unique design also offers another advantage that is absent from many of its competitors - both units come with four 10/100 Ethernet ports, where most only have one, enabling you to connect a number of wired devices to the powerline source. This can result in quite a bit of money saved, since it spares you from buying either additional adaptors for each device or from having to buy expensive proprietary wireless dongles - smart HD TVs and original Xbox 360s are particularly bad for this.

Network speeds were very good, averaging around 126Mbps with plenty of bandwidth for streaming standard definition movies from one PC to another. High definition streaming was less smooth, so a faster powerline adaptor focusing on media streaming is going to be a better buy.

Verdict

For decent and consistent network speeds, coupled with ease of use and some good features, the Western Digital WD Livewire is a very good powerline adaptor kit.

The Buffalo AirStation N450 USB 2.0 Wireless Adapter WLI-UC-G450 is a companion to the fantastic Buffalo AirStation N-Technology HighPower ADSL2+ Modem Router. One of the standout features of the router was the design, which helped to focus wireless network signals and resulted in a stronger, more consistent wireless connection. Thankfully the Buffalo AirStation N450 USB 2.0 Wireless Adapter WLI-UC-G450 continues this design ethos - Buffalo calls it 'beamforming' - to focus and direct the wireless signals.

The results were highly impressive. Paired with the Buffalo AirStation N-Technology HighPower ADSL2+ Modem Router, we were able to put three doors and a floor between our test laptop and the router before all signal was lost. Even our Wireless G-only router remained visible for a longer distance than the laptop's built-in Wi-Fi receiver.

As you'd expect from a wireless N receiver, connecting to a wireless N router, transfer speeds between the two were great, and high-definition movies streamed from one PC to the test laptop in the same room didn't suffer from stuttering.

Word to the wise when installing the drivers for the Buffalo AirStation N450 USB 2.0 Wireless Adapter WLI-UC-G450: make sure you tick 'Always trust software from "BUFFALO INC."'. It'll save you having to click 'Install' on a lot of windows.

Verdict

On the whole the Buffalo AirStation N450 USB 2.0 Wireless Adapter is a great investment if you've got a wireless N router and you want to give your wireless network a boost.

Anyone who has an Asus RT-N56U Dual Band Wireless-N Router will recognise the striking design of the Asus USB-N53 dual-band 300Mbps wireless N adaptor.

Of course it's performance that counts with a wireless adaptor, and the Asus USB-N53 does very well, and goes some way to justify its higher than average price. Being dual-band, you get both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands - as long as you have a capable router - and interference from other wireless signals is kept to a minimum, which is a godsend in the modern home when almost everything is Wi-Fi enabled.

It works well and we were streaming HD content as well as surfing the internet on our test laptop without any stuttering. There was also a noticeable increase in range compared to our test laptop's built-in wireless receiver, although streaming media became a bit less consistent when a few walls were placed between the receiver and the router.

The Asus USB-N53 wireless N adaptor comes with some handy software that turns your PC into an access point, although we did have a few problems with the set up process hanging in Windows 7 64bit.

Wi-Fi's great convenience is not having to lay metres of cable to set up a network. However, it only reaches so far before the signal falls off. One way to remedy that is to deploy a network extender such as the RE1000 from Linksys to carry the signal further and maintain its strength.

The bundled app (downloadable for MacBook Air) scans for the unit, then shows Wi-Fi networks it can see. After specifying the network and its password, you move the unit to a spot away from your router and towards the area of weak reception, but where a good connection is possible.

Click 'Next' in the app and it shows up to five bars representing the connection quality. Our initial location offered little improvement, so we moved the RE1000 further towards the router.

However, there's no simple refresh in the app. We had to perform a hardware reset and repeat the process, which, luckily, takes just a few minutes.

The sweet spot we found gave a four-bar connection between the extender and the router, and boosted the poorest location's transmission rate from 20Mbps to a stable 78Mbps.

Consider the quantity of traffic you want to send to a device at one time. The RE1000 only extends 2.4GHz networks, which is fine for basic tasks and limited streaming, but it's a bottleneck if you plan to back up to a Time Capsule while streaming high-definition video from an iTunes library elsewhere on your network.

A 10/100 Ethernet port allows you to situate a networkable printer away from your router. However, there isn't a port to network a USB printer.

The Devolo dLAN 500 AVplus is great for creating a wired network without trailing cables across the house. Just connect your router to a nearby plug socket using one of the supplied homeplugs, and use the other with your Mac.

Data passes between the plugs over your electrical cables, giving you a wired router connection anywhere in the house.

These new plugs are capable of transfer speeds of up to 500Mbps, which is over twice as fast as the older dLAN 200Mbps apapters. Setup is easy, as long as you ignore the incorrect instructions and out-of-date wizard on the bundled CD: download the free Cockpit network manager from Devolo's website instead.

The plug connected to your local computer is automatically detected, and others are added to the network by entering a unique security code printed on each homeplug. If you need extra plugs you can add them later, and the new dLAN 500 plugs are compatible with dLAN 200 units, albeit at 200Mbps transfer speeds.

In our tests, the new dLAN 500 standard proved its worth, achieving speeds of 450Mbps and higher on our home network. Devolo's older dLAN 200 plugs managed around 155Mbps.

Streaming a 1080p movie proved difficult, with stuttering and pixellation evident, but two 720p videos streamed simultaneously without problems (it struggled with three). It's great to see more powerful homeplugs aren't much more expensive than the older ones too.

The biggest issues with sending data over your electrical wiring – a lack of speed and security – are neatly tied up in Netgear's bundle, which comprises two plugs and two Ethernet cables. Just plug them in and you've got a fast, secure home network instantly.

The pass-through design means you won't end up losing any of those vital plug sockets either, and one will happily sit behind your router or modem without causing too much interference. They're also the fastest we've seen so far – we managed to achieve a 1Gbps connection, although interference can affect how fast this actually is.

That 1Gbps speed shouldn't be overlooked – it's as fast as a conventional wired network, which means you no longer have to worry about CAT5 cables taking over your home.

The AV+ 500 is backwards compatible, so you can link it to existing Netgear powerline adapters, although it's not clear how this may affect the speed.

Security is the biggest concern with powerline networking, with hackers apparently able to snoop on your connection by connecting to your building's grid and 'listening' to the electrical frequencies. Netgear's hardware promises protection from the moment you plug it in, but also includes software for even stronger encryption.

Our only quibbles with the AV+ 500 are the price and the design. It looks like something that would be more at home in a 1980s office than a sleek modern home, but the nature of sockets means they're always going to be tucked away, so it doesn't matter too much.

You can pick up home networking kits for under £40, but they won't come close to Netgear's speeds. If you upgrade from Wi-Fi to the AV+ 500 you'll notice an immediate difference in performance, and it's the first true successor to a conventional wired home network.

The number of network-capable gizmos under the average telly is rapidly expanding. If you're particularly flush, you might have a games console, an internet TV, a set-top box, a DVR, a media-centre PC, a NAS drive and a Blu-ray player. Most of these devices don't include Wi-Fi, so how are you meant to connect them?

Enter Belkin's Share Powerline AV 3 Port. This network kit comprises two plugs, one of which includes three Ethernet ports. This means you can connect the first to your router, and the second to up to three devices (although Belkin has only included a pair of CAT5 cables).

Unlike the Netgear AV+ 500, there's no pass-through on the plugs themselves, which means they'll have to take up a power socket each. They're good-looking adaptors though, and they'll complement an expensive home cinema setup. Belkin recommends that they're plugged directly into the wall rather than an extension socket, but we experienced no problems when we did so.

Security is covered by 128-bit AES encryption out of the box. It all works perfectly as soon as you plug it in, but Belkin recommends that you update the firmware first.

In spite of this, speed was a letdown, especially compared to Netgear's offering. Belkin promises a 200Mbps connection, but in our tests we were only able to achieve 100Mbps. Add extra devices and the speed drops further. It's still faster than your average Wi-Fi connection, but it's disappointing.

We can't help but question the price too. You could buy an ordinary powerline network kit for less than £40, then bung a £15 network switch on one end and achieve the same result, albeit a bit less tidily.

If you're after a neat way to connect a multitude of appliances to the net, look no further. Just don't expect lightning-fast connection speeds.

The Buffalo AirStation WLAE-AG300N works in three ways. The first is to add an additional wi-fi access point if there are 'black spots' in your home. Here, an Ethernet cable is run from your router to where the additional coverage is required.

In the second mode, two WLAE-AG300Ns act as a wireless 'bridge' between two existing wired networks.

Finally, there's the ability to connect non wi-fi devices to a wireless network, by running an Ethernet cable from the WLAE-AG300N to the device.

The new 802.11n/a 5GHz band is supported, in addition to the established 802.11a/g and 11b (2.4GHz) modes. The former band is far less congested and claims data transfer rates as high as 300Mbps.

Two Ethernet ports ensure that a pair of networked devices can be simultaneously connected and thus converted to wireless operation. It's also very easy to use and configure and supports DHCP.

A web interface (which would be accessible to Mac and Linux users) allows you to subsequently change parameters including SSID/ network name, encryption mode (WEP, TKIP and AES are all supported, as the ability to enter your own key) and radio mode.

Another good feature is a technology known as AOSS (AirStation One-Touch Secure System) which aims to speed up the setup of secure wireless connections. We had no problems with performance, either. Streamed audio and video alike were free of glitches.

Initially, the WLAE-AG300N will set the radio mode automatically using DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection) to determine the best band and channel. Where there is a lot of 2.4GHz wireless activity, it might select a 5GHz channel. If this occurs, you won't discover the Buffalo access point with older gear. But you can easily fix this via the web interface.

Few devices support AOSS, only the newer Nintendo hand-held consoles, the Wii, PSPs running newer firmware and the PS3.