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Cisco Valet Connect USB Wifi-N adapter (300M) $10 @ Staples B&M only

txlonghorn

txlonghorn

Senior member
I got an email flyer yesterday about this deal but I didn't pay attention because I thought it was $10 off. But I was in Staples today and saw the adapter for only $10. Was debating whether I should pickup a Wifi-N adapter from deals posted by Zap. But $10 for this device made it a no brainer. I didn't know about its specs but a quick search showed it is 300M 2T2R. BTW, the driver is on the USB stick itself, so is the software. Very handy feature. I just installed the driver on my Win 7 box and it works right away. Task Manager reports 300M connection speed. Very happy with the purchase.

Here is the Staples weekly Ad http://weeklyad.staples.com/staples/default.aspx?action=entryflash&

Go to page 16. They also have Cisco Valet Plus for $49. Regular price $109.99. Price is good until 10/22/11.
 
Dead? Price is showing up as $39.99, when I hover the mouse over the weekly ad, and when I click on it. "$39.99 / Was 39.99 / Save $29.99"
 
Not dead, just in-store only. That was specified in the email. I was confused by the on-line ad too, that's why I didn't pay attention first. At the store today (Austin, south), there was a table full of this item and the the Cisco Valet Plus Router under the banner "Special Buy".
 
2t2r 300mbs with the software on the drive itself? holy shit that is a hot deal for $10. ill be going to staples tomorrow morning

these go for as low as $15 shipped on ebay, but thats ebay and you have to wait

edit- amazon has these for $12.86 shipped. i wonder whats wrong with these? they seem like a really good deal for the features you get....
 
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ok i finally went to staples.

no wonder why this product doesnt sell! marketing for the BIG loss!

first, the product packaging is just a joke. yeah, it looks nice, but what the fuck is this product? i even knew what i was buying but when i saw the box i wasnt even sure if it was the right item.

nowhere on the box does it state it is a wireless N adapter. actually, it doesnt even state its a wireless networking adapter. its just called "wireless usb adapter". it is the most unexplained item i have ever seen in computer gear, no wonder why people dont buy it.

second, staples doesnt do anything to help. i go to the store thinking i probably should just go to the clearance table. nope, not there. so i go to where the wifi adapters are and yes, its there. in its normal place, with 5 others just stocked full in its spot. the price tag says $10, just as it normally would. no advertisement tag, no specials tag, no tag saying "HEY THIS IS A GOOD WIFI N ADAPTER FOR CHEAP!". nothing. best i can tell, its just a cheap wireless B network adapter, if its even a network adapter at all.

but all this failure means GOOD for me. yes, it installs by itself (it has a usb flash disk built into it, so you always have drivers. why dont more manufacturers do this?). and YES- its 300mbs! even windows says it connects at that speed. im getting full reception through a wall... it seems to be working great.

comes with a usb extension cord and a stand! it looks very modern and nice!

i would grab more if they cost more online.. but for $12.84 shipped from amazon thats also one hell of a deal. best cheap wifi adapter on the net, hands down!
 
I couldnt help it, i ripped mine apart to find the chip it uses.

it is indeed an RaLink rt3072L, which seems to be a chip that is custom designed to make wifi adapters that store their own drivers.

RT3072L-R Ralink说明

802.11n 1T1R/1T2R/2T2R USB Single Chip Family

Package: 9 x 9 mm 76-ball QFN
• Support PHY rate from 150 to 300Mbps
• 20MHz/40MHz bandwidth support
• Reverse Direction Data Flow and Frame Aggregation
• WEP 64/128, WPA, WPA2, TKIP, AES
• QoS - WMM, WMM-PS
• WPS, PIN, PBC
• Multiple BSSID support
• Host Interface: USB 2.0
• Cisco CCX support
• Bluetooth Co-existence
• Low Power with Advanced Power Management
• Built in e-fuse memory
• Operating systems support: Windows XP 32/ 64, 2000,
Vista 32/ 64, Linux and Macintosh


also, ive noticed this stick connects faster then anything ive ever had. plug in the usb stick, and wait maybe 3 seconds and its on the network, internet enabled. im falling in love with this adapter very quickly... its by far more gear then what you pay for. btw, it has 122mb of storage space on it, 32mb for the drivers and 85mb remains free! at very least, this is a must have tool for any pc repair bag!
 
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wirednuts said:
amazon has these for $12.86 shipped. i wonder whats wrong with these? they seem like a really good deal for the features you get....
Click to expand...

They don't have the best reviews in the world. Newegg reviewers gave it 25% 1/5. Woot! had them recently for $6.99 each so I actually bought one (ahem, 3). I figure the USB stand made it worth the money.

wirednuts said:
first, the product packaging is just a joke. yeah, it looks nice, but what the fuck is this product? i even knew what i was buying but when i saw the box i wasnt even sure if it was the right item.
Click to expand...

Good thing it isn't sold next to the Hitachi Magic Wands. 😛
 
well the stick i got is the best usb wifi adapter ive ever had. i just put it in my truck and it connects over 100ft outside at 4/5 bars, 270-300mbs.

being that it comes with the nice stand, its drivers are preloaded, and its 2T2R... i dont see how this isnt the best deal on wifi adapters at the moment. ill be buying more of these when i get some cash, these will be useful for the next 10 years....
 
Zap said:
They don't have the best reviews in the world. Newegg reviewers gave it 25% 1/5. Woot! had them recently for $6.99 each so I actually bought one (ahem, 3). I figure the USB stand made it worth the money.
Click to expand...
even with a few low ratings, overall avg 4/5 on both Newegg and Amazon is pretty good for WiFi.
 
I was torn on buying these since I don't really need them but wired's review sold me, picked up 4 from Amazon. Thanks wired and tx for the head up.
 
txlonghorn said:
I concur. I am going back to get a few more to upgrade all my wifi adapters to 300mbps. BTW, the unit I have runs warm to the touch, not burning hot. Another plus.
Click to expand...

opening mine up made me like it more. they put little heatsinks on the chips. so yea, the adapter does feel hot on one side during use, but that is by design.

you can also see a spot where you might be able to solder an external antenna to it.... i thought about trying it, but this thing works so good as it is i dont see why. im picking up more access points then my laptop! (which NEVER happens)
 
wirednuts "nowhere on the box does it state it is a wireless N adapter."

Actually, there is an image on the box's side that has <B><G><wifi><N>.
 
Found another great use for this device today. I had to restore an old 32-bit machine from WHS backup using the restore CD. The biggest hassle has always been keeping the networking driver around so that it can be loaded during startup and connect the machine to the network. All I had to do today was insert the Cisco adapter and the driver was detected and loaded. The old box had only 100Mbps wired ethernet. With this adapter, I was restoring at 3X network speed without any driver hassle.

I am liking this adapter more and more.
 
txlonghorn said:
Found another great use for this device today. I had to restore an old 32-bit machine from WHS backup using the restore CD. The biggest hassle has always been keeping the networking driver around so that it can be loaded during startup and connect the machine to the network. All I had to do today was insert the Cisco adapter and the driver was detected and loaded. The old box had only 100Mbps wired ethernet. With this adapter, I was restoring at 3X network speed without any driver hassle.

I am liking this adapter more and more.
Click to expand...


this is what i have been saying the whole time. this happens time and again, and it just boggles me why others dont do this. ive been talking about it for probably close to a decade now and this is the first wifi adapter ive seen that does it. i mean im sure there have been others, i just honestly dont recall any.

you would think most usb peripherals would have native drivers on them, but i have read in articles explaining that old drivers can cause so many problems that manufacturers are even reluctant to put the driver disc in the box... but if they have to do that then why not just have it on the device itself, and have a way to erase/replace it with newer drivers like you can on the cisco adapter?

i dont know, this adapter is just one of those gadgets where you can tell the lead guy designing it knows what theyre doing. last time something impressed me like this was the altec lansing t515 portable bt speakers
 
OutofBubleGum said:
wirednuts "nowhere on the box does it state it is a wireless N adapter."

Actually, there is an image on the box's side that has <B><G><wifi><N>.
Click to expand...

yeah i was being a little brass... but honestly in the store i really couldnt tell if it was a wifi n adapter or what. it was such a non descript item that i didnt question why they couldnt even give them away.
 
There is a printable $5 off $25 coupon in the back of the on-line ad. I picked up 3 more today for $25.

wirednuts said:
but honestly in the store i really couldnt tell if it was a wifi n adapter or what.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I had the same doubt. Couldn't believe a Cisco branded N adapter can be so cheap. I used one of Staple's demo computer and Googled the product. When I saw the specs I had 2 thoughts:
1) Wow! Great product for $10.
2) Why Cisco makes it so hard to figure out what it is?
 
txlonghorn said:
2) Why Cisco makes it so hard to figure out what it is?
Click to expand...

yep... just terrible marketing. they have some of the best features in its class and they brag less then some generic 'super speed 54g lightning adapter'. clearly they have had problems selling these, or else it wouldnt be all over the net for the same price too. just crazy... so many products out there are marketed way better then what they are for.
 
VirtualLarry said:
Dead? Price is showing up as $39.99, when I hover the mouse over the weekly ad, and when I click on it. "$39.99 / Was 39.99 / Save $29.99"
Click to expand...

The Mill Creek, WA store listed as $39.99. Took one to the counter for a price check and sure enough it's $10. Like others mentioned the packaging is very nondescript. I grabbed two and some AA batteries.
 
stopped by staples again. someone bought one yesterday, so there was 3 left. of corse i didnt need 3 of them so i bought them all. $26 after tax after coupon. now i have 4 of these, and no immediate use other then one as a service tool. god i have a problem
 
I cleaned out Staples in Oakland, NJ. They had one on the clearance desk, but I figured I'd check the isles ad found two more. Added the $5 coupon. Very nice.

Might hit one the ones in Wayne as well. Not reselling them, they are just nice things to have when folks who I help need connectivity around their house. If they have an N router, then these are sweet, I see they will work with G as well. I couldn't find my router at first but realized these are 2.4ghz so I changed that setting on the router and all seems good.
 
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