Hawking HWPS12UG

Combining a comparatively comprehensive feature set, a great user interface, good 802.11g wireless performance, and a low price, the Hawking HWPS12UG handily earns our Editors' Choice.

This is the only device in our roundup with an Ethernet port for configuration, as well as two USB 1.1 ports and a parallel port, allowing you to connect up to three printers simultaneously. Six status LEDs indicate power, LAN, WLAN, and all printer port activity.

We were especially impressed with the integrated wireless site-survey tool, which discovered more than ten wireless networks in our labs. The HWPS12UG is also the only device to include a DHCP server that can be activated if needed. Netware, SMB, and AppleTalk printing support and 64-bit and 128-bit WEP and SNMP are part of the extensive feature set as well.

Included with the installation CD are setup wizards for both the print server and the client-side port utility, which installs the appropriate redirect ports on your PC. For configuration and management, you can use either the Web-based interface, which was the best we saw in this roundup, or an included Windows application.

The one feature we would have liked to see is some form of print queue display or management interface similar to that found in the Axis product. But this is hardly a deal breaker. The HWPS12UG has plenty going for it: notable features, solid performance, and an affordable price.