Features & Specifications
The Canary Wireless Digital Hotspotter is a second generation device that features a LCD to display information about wireless networks within range. The device is small measuring in at 3.19” L x 2.31” W x 0.65” H and weighs only 2.5 ounces. The LCD display can show up to 20 hotspots and uses an 802.11 engine so you get no false returns from Bluetooth or cordless phones.

The screen also show signal strength and provides SSID and the type of encryption used. The Canary Wireless Digital Hotspotter scans channels 1-14 and tells what channel the network is on and the LCD is backlit.

In Use
The first thing some people think when they hear about a device like the Canary Wireless Digital Hotspotter is that my notebook can do that. Well some notebooks can do what the Hotspotter does, but what your notebook might not tell you without trying to connect is if the network is encrypted or not.

To use the device all you do it turn it on and it automatically scans for wireless networks in range. Once it finds the network pertinent details about it scroll across the LCD along with a prominent display of the network SSID.

The scanning process took about 10 seconds in my testing to turn up 6 local wireless networks. It is important to note that my notebook only found three of the local networks in its scan. A lock icon displays to show you at a glance if a network is open or closed to public access. If networks the Canary Wireless Digital Hotspotter finds are encrypted it will also tell you what encryption is in use. Presumably the type of encryption is to help you connect to networks where the network key is something incredibly difficult to remember like 1234 or possible the same as the SSID.