Nice product and UPS
03/08/2014
This review is from: APC Back-UPS Pro 500 BG500 500VA 300W 4 Outlets UPS
Pros:
After unboxing and using the APC BG500 I can now honestly say that this is much more than just a battery backup for your router and could be easily integrated into anyone’s home/small business network. The BG500 is intended for homeowner use and really does bring a lot to the table with it's useful array of features. When I first removed the unit from the packaging I was pleasantly surprised with the tidy efficient packaging, the light weight and compactness of the unit. After physically setting up the product with the included stand I noticed that it was not that much bigger than a consumer grade wireless router (twice as tall, 1.5x as deep, and just as slim depending on the router). One of the most pleasant surprises I came across was ease of use where the device is essentially plug-n-play where you don't even need the software installed as long as you can find the IP address of the BG500 (normally 192.168.1x.x), with which you can dial in and will be greeted with a very simple, intuitive, and appealing UI. Another feature I enjoyed using was the smart outlets which could be controlled on an individual basis and set to auto reboot for the watchdog feature (polls your internet connection to ensure it is still viable) or auto off from the master outlet. I really did enjoy the UI and ended up spending a few hours just browsing, tweaking, and basically just fooling around because it gave you a good amount of control over such a simple product and even tracked a bunch of stats for you such as how much the device is saving you (after you put in the cost of electricity) and other QoS features. I know I have no mentioned the most important part of a product that calls itself a UPS, yes it does have a 300W battery pack and does not hiccup when switching to battery backup but this unit really is so much more than a UPS that the UPS feature takes a back burner to all of the other useful features.
Cons:
I did not have too many issues with this issue that surprised me, I expected to be a little disappointed with the capacity since it is only 300W, you can expect how much it will power. I would have liked to see more outlets, even if they were not on the UPS because then you could just replace the power strip instead having to have this along with a power strip. The two minor caveats that surprised me were that some of the outlets were a bit too close to plug in the large bulky wall warts in and the Ethernet port was surprisingly difficult to plug in due to the recess and 45 degree angle that it is set at.
Overall Review:
I did try the software CD that they recommend using and all it does is find the BG500 on your network, connect you to it, and then makes it easy to access but I preferred just setting up a static IP for it and just typing the IP into my web browser to connect to it. Overall this is a good product that has done well with my usability and basic discharge tests (last as long as is advertised under the described loads) but I could definitely see another rev of this with the things mentioned in cons improved on, especially the small stuff like plug spacing.
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