CES networking wrap-up

Networking provides added value to other categories at CES

If you check out our networking coverage page from CES 2006, you'd have to wonder whether you'd accidentally stumbled across the home audio/video section, because while straightforward networking products were few and far between, home media gear with wireless capability were legion. Everything from A/V servers to media extenders to stereo speakers got the Wi-Fi treatment for 2006, bringing home the reality that in the very near future, you can have photos, music, and video flying throughout your house with nary a wire in sight.

Home entertainment networking
Even traditional networking companies are trying to cash in on the home entertainment frenzy. D-Link added to its MediaLounge line of networked A/V gear, Linksys incorporated a media server into an otherwise traditional router, and Buffalo put software from Mediabolic into its line of network-attached storage drives. The Mediabolic makeover makes those drives DLNA compliant, which means they'll push A/V media to other DLNA-compliant devices such as wireless A/V receivers and adapters. What we didn't see from the networking stalwarts as we expected was a big push in the sub-$100 pre-N router/adapter arena, at least not at CES. We have no doubt those products are coming, but perhaps they weren't sexy enough to promote at the show.

Home automation and control
Home control was another arena that made a big splash at this year's CES, with Z-Wave catching a lot of attention. The Z-Wave Alliance is a consortium of manufacturers who are using the Zensys chip inside products that control lights, alarms, doors, window blinds, and an assortment of other home devices, which together form a two-way mesh network within your home. You can monitor and control your home automation system remotely via a Web-based browser for peace of mind while on vacation.

Wi-Fi VoIP phones
Finally, Wi-Fi VoIP phones had a big coming-out at CES this year, specifically, Skype-based Wi-Fi phones, such as Netgear's model. While it's a nice idea in theory (as long as you're within range of an open Wi-Fi network, you can make Skype calls), we're wondering how it will play out. We still see people cursing their cell phones' bad reception in pockets of San Francisco. Can we expect a Wi-Fi handset to do better? It seems unlikely.