SmallNetBuilder

The Pitch and Product

Buffalo Technology's WLI-U2-KG54-AI 54Mbps Wireless USB 2.0 Keychain Adapter distinguishes itself from the rest of the "keychain" or "USB flash-key" styled wireless adapters by being the first to automatically install its drivers and Client Utility when first connected to a Windows computer.

The AI is also the first Buffalo product to be based on a chipset from Taiwan-based RaLink, the RT2500USB to be exact. It's also the second Buffalo 11g product to not use a chipset from Broadcom. (The first was the WLI-USB-G54 which converted from Broadcom to Conexant PRISM back in March [related story].)

Figure 1: The AI's board
(click on the image for a larger view)

The AI's white plastic package is about the size of a disposable butane lighter, but somewhat slimmer. It has a wireless activity (ACT) indicator that lights only during transmission, a tiny recessed switch to disable the auto-installation feature and a feature that should allow you to attach a lanyard or tiny keychain ring, neither of which is included. Buffalo does throw in a USB extender cable for use with hard-to-reach or too-closely-spaced USB ports.

To cut to the chase, I inserted the AI into a newly SP2-upgraded XP desktop machine and sat back to see what happened. The install was fairly uneventful, with the XP Notification Area / System Tray popping up two "Installed and Ready" notifications, one after the USB adapter install and the other after the wireless driver install.