While common thinking may suggest the contrary, one could argue that competition may be less difficult in some respects in a monopolistic setting. When there’s one giant, one clear leader, it is plainly obvious where the bar lies in terms of product features and quality, and therefore what one must create in order to compete.

Consider, now, the contrasting situation; a market where there are several competitors, all similar in size with similar resources, all offering similar products at similar prices. All of a sudden, what must be done to get ahead becomes somewhat less obvious.

The latter is currently the case, in the opinion of this Editor, with respect to the wireless networking market. There are several large manufacturers, each offering a very similar product lineup at very similar prices. What none of them currently have is a clear, stand-out way to attract consumers, and to differentiate themselves from one another. One could replace Wireless Broadband Router from Brand X with Wireless Broadband Router from Brand Y, and it’s very probable that the only difference would be the shape of the box or color of the interface. With such uniformity of features and pricing, how is one to get ahead?

Such is the question facing Compex Inc., manufacturer of home and office networking and wireless networking solutions. Today we take a look at Compex’s WP11A+ Wireless Access Point, and see how it fares against offerings from industry stalwarts such as SMC, Linksys, D-Link, and others.