Do I need a wireless router or a wireless access point?

I currently have a pc connected to jetstream via adsl modem.
I have a laptop that I want to be able to use wirelessly.
I want to be able to use the pc on the internet (with same settings as now - hardwired) and the laptop on the internet wirelessly at the same time.

Do I need a wireless ROUTER plus a wireless card for the laptop
or
Do I need a wireless ACCESS POINT plus a wireless card for the laptop.

Thanks to anyone that can help.

Please be more specific about your current setup:

Does your present PC have an internal dsl "modem" or are you using a standalone dsl router?

If you have an internal modem, you'll want to get a router
If you're using an external router already, it's up to you - do you want one device to do the lot or two devices to do both tasks?

Personally I'm inclined to keep things seperate, so I'd recommend an AP.

And a headsup - just because the box says "router" doesnt mean it can do DSL connectivity. Read the fine print.

Are you looking at any device in particular?

Thanks for reply.
Currently I have DLink DSL-302G external adsl modem connected to pc via cat5 cable.
The devices I'm looking at getting are
Dlink DI-624 108Mbps XtremeG Wireless Router
or
Dlink DWL-2100AP 108Mbps XtremeG Wireless AP

As the current 302G modem only has one network port which is being used to connect to the pc, I assume I am better off getting the DI-624 as it has four network ports so I could hook the 302G up to the DI-624, and then cable the DI-624 to the pc, and wireless from the DI-624 to the laptop?

yes, you'd want to get something with an inbuilt switch.

any particular reason for sticking with dlink as apposed to something much much better such as linksys, senao, almost anything else?

no particular reason, just got a good deal on it.
If I use the new d-link DI-624 xtreme, can I use it instead of the 302G ?
Or do you have to have them both connected.

Well the dlink 2000/2100 series have being problematic for people I know with them.

The way DSL is provisioned in NZ means that there is no such thing as an ethernet modem, as the trasnport on DSL cant be bridged to ethernet directly. When I looked at the cheap dlink, they sold it as a modem, but it actually was a router that was crippled majorly, in that it would only support a single PC thru it at a time. It had all the minuses of a NAT router, and none of the benifits as the PC was in the DMZ, so effectivly unfirewalled. I dont know if this was the 302 or not, but if it was, you will need to get a full on ethernet router like the linksys wrt54g to hang behind it.

If you can run multiple PCs on the 302, then you can get away with an accesspoint, but the switch in the ap/router combo may be a welcome benifit.

i had many dlink AP's... they suck... buy a linksys wrt54g or wrt54gs.

The linksys don't go up to 108Mbps, the D-Link extreme G don't either as they say they do but they are much faster than 54Mbps - I've seen them.

well there's a couple of things you should know about wireless:

1) It's essentially a multicast technology - like an ethernet hub, not a switch (oh for switched wireless but I digress) so in other words it's shared bandwidth
2) you'll never get the figure on the box. Try halving it and you're closer to reality - eg .a/.g will average 22-25mbit of REAL throughput
3) A lot of these "wopbopaloobop speed ++ 5000" technologies defy the wireless standards, are very frequency greedy, and lock you into one brand.

The Linksys Speedbooster technology (on the GS series) stays within the confines of the standards, is not frequency greedy, and is compatable with almost all wireless gear from any manufacturer (that is to say - you'll notice an improvement using say a netgear WNIC that is not explicitly a speedbooster card). This makes it much more favourable.

Many people have had many problems with Dlink gear, the same does not hold true for Linksys equipment.

I've had wireless gear from half a dozen manufacturers and the dlink was by far the worst. I'm replacing the dlink AP in one of my basestations with a belkin, they're that bad.