Zyxel
AG-225H Wi-Fi Finder: $99
www.zyxel.com

Talk about convenient wireless functionality. Zyxel's new AG-225H is a deceptively small Wi-Fi finder and client that runs off of power from your customer's computer. Easily the size of a USB pen drive, its true purpose is given away by a high-contrast LCD screen designed to simplify wireless hotspot hunting. The AG-225H is equipped to detect 802.11a/b/g networks either attached or, thanks to an integrated lithium ion battery, away from a computer. The display conveys a bevy of useful information, including signal strength, security level, encryption type, operating channel, radio band, and SSID site name. In metropolitan areas with overlapping hotspots, you can scroll through the available choices to find the most favorable survey data.

Of course, the logical next step is connecting to an available network, which would generally require integrated wireless support or an add-in card. The AG-225H goes beyond the simple functions of a Wi-Fi finder, though, by actually supporting client functionality for all three wireless standards. In environments where both 2.4 and 5GHz bands are available, a bundled software utility will switch between modes in order to maintain the best throughput and lowest interference.

You can also use the AG-225H as an access point by connecting an Ethernet cable to your computer and sharing the network through the wireless adapter. Support for WEP, WPA, and WPA2 security standards safeguards your newly created wireless environment from unauthorized access, too.

Seiko
Smart Label Printer 430: $189
www.siibusinessproducts.com

Label printers represent great upsell opportunities for small business and home offices, many of which still hand-write envelopes and don't have the time to set up label printing on an inkjet. Seiko's Smart Label Printer minimizes printing overhead by employing a thermal mechanism that eliminates the need for ink, toner, and ribbons.

The model 430 features text capture from most Windows and Mac applications, including Word and Outlook. Users can further enhance address labels through the use of customizable company logos, which should really excite your small business customers. Moreover, setup is simple with plug and play USB or serial interfaces.

Gigabyte
GA-8N-SLI Royal: $220
www.giga-byte.com

Some of your customers want Intel processors and there's no way around it. Unfortunately for them, Intel isn't on top right now, particularly in the gaming segment. That honor goes to AMD, despite Intel's best efforts to woo enthusiasts with screaming frame rates and large caches. Processor alacrity is only part of the story, though. Much of Intel's disadvantage comes—or came—from not having a suitable platform to support SLI technology, NVIDIA's mechanism for linking two graphics processors together. Though SLI won't buy you faster video encoding or anti-virus scans, it's the big ticket item for 3D power.

NVIDIA, with Intel's blessing, recently enabled SLI for the Pentium with its nForce4 SLI Intel Edition. It's almost identical to the AMD version from a specification perspective, excepting a new memory controller, which NVIDIA designed especially for the Pentium architecture.

There are a few motherboard manufacturers particularly adept at crafting such high-end platforms into truly attractive value-added bundles. Gigabyte is one of the best known, with a proclivity for little extras that make an impact. The company's GA-8N-SLI Royal motherboard, based on NVIDIA's nForce4 SLI Intel Edition chipset, is a prime example. It includes Gigabyte's proprietary power enhancement system called DPS and a Bluetooth dongle, which connects to cell phones, PDAs, and printers.

Of course, the board itself is a piece of work, following Gigabyte's propensity for bright colors and heavy integration. NVIDIA's standard four SATA II connectors are complemented by another pair. The built-in Gigabit Ethernet controller is flanked by a second. And on top of 7.1 audio, Gigabyte leverages IEEE 1394b running at 800 Mbps. Those extras will go unappreciated to anyone who thinks $220 is too much for video card, let alone a motherboard. However, enthusiasts will find them handy for connecting peripherals.

D-Link
DWL-G730AP Pocket Router: $70
www.dlink.com

Every once and a while, road warriors run into products that they just can't live without. Bluetooth headsets, notebooks, e-mail enabled cell phones—you get the idea. D-Link's DWL-G730AP is another one of those must-haves. It's a router, an access point, and a wireless client, all rolled into one. Small enough to fit in a pocket, the G730AP is an awesome travel accessory whenever you anticipate a need for Internet connectivity.

In router mode, the device is set up to share a broadband connection. Simply plug in your RJ-45 plug and an internal DHCP server assigns IP addresses to every wireless receiver in the room. VPN pass-through is supported, and firewall features protect the network from intrusion. As an access point, the G730AP can take a single Ethernet network connection and create a wireless environment where other users are able to connect and share resources. Finally, as a client, the product provides access to an existing wireless network without the need of an accompanying driver disk.

While all of that functionality certainly establishes the G730AP as a value proposition, its dimensions are equally exciting. D-Link bundles a case, but the thing will literally fit in your pocket. Moreover, it draws very little power. When an electrical socket simply isn't available, it'll run off of your laptop's USB port. With performance up to 54 Mbps and a complete accessory kit included, the DWL-G730AP is a great upsell opportunity for any mobile sale.

Hauppauge
WinTV-PVR-500MCE: $150
www.hauppauge.com

The Whole Media Center experience that Microsoft is shooting for centers on a few principal abilities: play back audio, play back video, present pictures, and watch TV. Of those features, it seems that television has taken the longest to catch on. Maybe the relative price and simplicity of TiVo is more compelling. Perhaps a lack of HDTV functionality is holding the early adopters at bay. Or maybe resellers aren't taking full advantage of of the potential in Microsoft's Windows XP MCE 2005.

One of the coolest features that introduced along with the operating system was support for dual tuners. Watch one show while you record another. It's a very intuitive idea, and TiVo is already capitalizing on it. One way of building the functionality into your media center systems is installing separate PCI tuner cards. However, Hauppauge got the idea to build them both onto a single board, which sells for $150.

There's nothing particularly special about the WinTV-PVR-500MCE other than its unique configuration and bolt-on FM receiver. The tuners are analog-only and the Conexant A/V encoder chips require processing assistance from a low-end Pentium 4 at least. Hauppauge doesn't bundle a remote control, nor does it include DVD decoding softwaresoftware; you'll need this to play back time-shifted MPEG-2 content. From an optimist's perspective, you get more freedom in configuration.