The chaps over at Phoronix take a look at the AlphaShield X2 Professional Firewall:

On the front of the product are three LEDs for indicating inbound traffic, outbound traffic, and connection status. There is also two buttons for connecting and disconnecting the network. On the back of the device is the Cable/DSL port, auxiliary port, status switch, and PC port. There is also a connection for its 9V AC adapter. The Cable/DSL port is meant as the WAN interface for traffic, while the PC port is for the LAN. The auxiliary port on the AlphaShield is not protected by the hardware firewall, and is meant for dedicated devices that do not need security protection. Such devices could include VoIP products among others. The switch on the unit is for toggling between manual, auto, and lock modes. In manual mode, there is a logical disconnect timer for 15 minutes of inactivity, and in this mode the IP address will be retained. In automatic mode, there is no disconnection for inactivity. Lock mode is similar to manual mode, however, after 15 minutes, the IP address will be released.

While majorities of the routers already contain hardware-based firewalls, the AlphaShield X2 is able to add yet another layer of protection. With that, the AlphaShield is the perfectly sized device for transporting with your laptop, so instantly on the road you are able to have a hardware firewall; whether you are connecting to a wired public network at a hotel or coffee shop. While this level of protection may not be needed for the casual Internet user, for anyone heavily relying upon the Internet to keep track of their finances or other important dealings, the AlphaShield X2 Professional Edition can certainly be a great asset. The only possible downfalls with the unit is the lack of possible user adjustments, it is expensive at $99+ USD, and it is a firewall only -- no Internet connection sharing or other network abilities. In other news, the AlphaShield Router should begin to surface sometime this month.