Having trouble getting your Wii online? Well, Nintendo's reportedly coming out with a new bit of kit that might seem redundant at first, but should definitely make connecting easier. Learn about the Nintendo WiFi Network Adapter after the jump!

For those of us without wireless routers, going online with our Nintendo Wii consoles or Nintendo DS handhelds have always involved a clever little device known as the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector. Unfortunately, it seems that future Wii owners will have to contend with the Wii LAN Adapter from now on, as the company recently discontinued the sale of the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector, the product now listed as unavailable for purchase in the Nintendo Online Store. Bummer.

The details at the full article.

 

According to certain market sources in Taiwan, Taiwanese business wireless solutions mogul Gemtek Technology is expected to be shipping more WLAN routers with the Nintendo Wii brand. There are estimates that the WLAN router volume shipping would reach 50,000 units by the second half of 2007.

Already having provided two million units of WLAN modules for the Nintendo Wii, Gemtek has been eyed to have stepped up their shipping to 100,000 units of WLAN modules recently. The company shipped 1.2 million units in contrast back in 2006. Gemtek apparently did not confirm nor deny the report, refusing to make any comment on the grounds of client confidentiality.

Business analysts in the market and in the region expect the Gemtek Technology to post total revenues of around NT$ 4.5 billion to NT$ 4.7 billion (US$ 136.26 million to US$ 142.316 million) by the second quarter of fiscal year 2007. Analysts point out that if all goes to plan, it should bring up the company's revenues up to NT$ 9 billion (US$ 272.52 million) by the first half of the year.

Thanks to DigiTimes for the heads up!

Got a Mac with an AirPort card and a Nintendo Wii? Thanks to a tutorial from Steve Clifford, you can now use your Mac's AirPort card to share your internet connection with your Wii. This is good for Mac owners who happen to have the card but don't have a wireless router.

First you'll need to make sure that you're currently connected to the internet through something other than your AirPort card. Also, make sure that AirPort is on and that you have the Wii close by. This tutorial doesn't involve any tinkering with the hardware -- which could void your warranty -- just the settings.

Anyway, here we go:

Step One: Turn on Internet Sharing

1. Go to System Preferences, click on the Sharing icon, then click on the Internet tab.
2. Change the ‘Share your connection from’ pop-up to Built-in Ethernet.
3. Under the ‘To computers using’ section, check the AirPort box.
4. Click Airport Options, and enter an easy name such as wii in the Network Name box.
5. OPTIONAL: Use any password that fits your settings (i.e. 128 bit WEP requires 13 characters).
6. Click OK if you’re on the AirPort Options screen.
7. Click Start in the Internet Sharing panel.

The full tutorial is after the jump!

Online connectivity's the name of the game these days when it comes to both gaming consoles and handhelds. Of course, the same goes for Nintendo's awesome twosome, the Wii and the DS handheld. But what if you have no wireless router? Does that mean that you're forever stuck with not being able to connect both platforms to each other?

Hell no. From Datel comes the WiFi MAX for the Wii, "the easiest and cheapest way to take your consoles online and compete with gamers from all over the world." This little doohickey is your ticket to the world of online gaming.

Using it is simplicity itself: just plug your USB WiFi dongle into your internet-enabled PC to create a Wireless Access Point. You can then connect to the internet and play online-enabled multiplayer games with DS and Wii gamers from all over the world.

The WiFi MAX supports up to five local DS gamers at a time, so you and your friends can all play online at once with no loss of speed. You can also use it to download additional material such as new levels, skins, artwork and even classic games for the Virtual Console.

WiFi MAX operates on the Wireless G standard, so it's five times faster than an ordinary WiFi connection, and if you use the bundled USB cable and dongle stand, you can position your dongle to maximize WiFi range. The WiFi MAX is also usable with other WiFi-enabled devices capable of using the internet such as laptops or PDAs.

The WiFi MAX for the Wii is out now, and costs UK£ 29.99 and US$ 39.99.

More images of the WiFi MAX for the Wii after the jump!

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UPDATE: Somebody commented that this device was made by Datel and not Nintendo. We checked our sources and found out that WiFi MAX is indeed a Datel product and we have made the necessary corrections in the article. Our apologies for that minor boo-boo.

Here's a question for all you lucky people out there who already have Wiis in your hands. Have you ever encountered DNS problems when trying to connect to the Wii store?

See, some guys from Ars Technica ran into a wall when they tried to do just that. They couldn't view the EULA that's necessary before you can buy virtual console games, and every time they tried, they just got an error 220602 message.

After calling the Nintendo help desk and getting told to a) change the WiFi router to channel 1 or 11, and b) move the Wii closer to the router (these methods didn't work for them, but apparently it worked for some people), they finally traced the problem to a crappy DNS server.

Now, there are a lot of possible causes for the DNS propagation issues, and a lot of people have pointed out that Nintendo's probably not the one who should be blamed fro this. Still, this issue may be keeping some Wii owners out there from enjoying their new consoles, so here's what Ars Technica's Ken Fisher suggests you do if you ever run into it:

In Wii Settings you can adjust your Internet connection and manually specify a new DNS server, if you wish. We took a different route, and changed the DNS servers on our WiFi router. From what we can tell, the Wii will use whatever is set as your Primary DNS, or DNS 1. It was enough for us to swap our primary and secondary DNS. You may have to set out in search of another DNS server to use, at least temporarily, until the DNS propagation is complete (surely by the end of this week).

I personally don't know anybody who's encountered this problem, but for the sake of those who are having a hard time getting their favorite virtual console games, we're hoping that this issue gets resolved soon.

Let's say that you're one of those people who got their very-own Wii (and didn't smash it). You're excited to get to know the console, so after trying out Wii Sports,you decided to try out its WiFi capabilities. But you have a small problem, you don't have any wireless routers and of course, your newly purchased Wii doesn't come with an Ethernet jack.

But thank goodness that you have a DS, and since Wii's WiFi works the same way as that of the DS, you could use that Nintendo WiFi dongle of yours to get online. In an article we found over at Ars Technica, someone tried to use it to get their Wii online and when they checked the Wii's wireless settings, there was an option for the dongle.

So, if you're planning on buying a wireless router to maximize the Wii's capabilities and you happen to have a Ninty WiFi dongle lying around your house, that may spare you from the added expenses. Tell us if it worked for you too.

If you're worried about not being able to connect your Wii to the intarwebz, think again. Nintendo's just announced that they're going to provide the Ethernet Kit so that we (and Wii) can directly connect the console to a standard internet router.

Good thing Nintendo decided to act on this. There were a lot of concerns about the Wii being connected wirelessly. And for those at home without any wireless routers, the Wii would probably be just as good as a lonely man on a lonely island. Now at least with the Ethernet Kit, staying connected won't be such a problem anymore.

Also, some of you might remember that in the same way that some of you might use the Nintendo WiFi Connector for your NDS, you can use the same thing for your Wii. Now, there's virtually no reason anymore for you to not be connected online.

It seems that Nintendo accidentally leaked a page giving users an insight into the WiFi capabilities of the upcoming Wii Console. Whilst the page has now disappeared from the website with a 404 error (promptly taken down after the leak, I assume), we were lucky enough to get our hands on two screenshots of the site (see below).

None of the information is relatively new to those people who have been following the progress of the console except that Nintendo have confirmed that you need a Wireless Router and that it's free! It was also stated on the pages that Tony Hawk: Downhill Jam would be online, which is a huge bonus to avid gamers of the series.

Stay tuned for more news!