What is a wireless repeater?

Archived from groups: alt.internet.wireless (More info?)

I was under the impression that I could buy a wireless repeater, stick
it somewhere in my house, and my reception would increase in dead
spots.

After reading a review on ZDNet, I am now under the impression that you
must connect the repeater to a wired network or access point for it to
be of any use. Here's a quote:
Throughput will be cut in half when you enable WDS and use the device
as a repeater among other Buffalo AirStations, because in this
configuration, the radio must not only receive but also retransmit each
individual data packet. Still, the repeater should have bandwidth
enough to spare for most applications, even with WDS enabled.

Well, then is WDS what I think a plain-old repeater is?

Here is the review:
http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Buffa [...] ml?tag=top