dual-band network

Trendnet's first 802.11ac router now shipping

Power users now have another option for their home Wi-Fi networks.

Trendnet announced today the availability of the AC1750 Dual Band Wireless Router (model TEW-812DRU). This router was first showcased at CES 2013 and is the first from Trendnet to support the new 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard.

The TEW-812DRU router is a true dual-band router that offers a maximum wireless speed of up to 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz frequency band, while at the same time offering up to 1,300Mbps speed on the 5GHz band. To take advantage of the new and much faster speed, the wireless clients also … Read more

Cisco ships dual-band Wireless-N bridge

Cisco announced today the availability of its first dual-band wireless bridge, the Linksys WES610N Wireless-N Dual-Band Entertainment Bridge. This is similar to the TEW-680MB from Trendnet and the DAP-1513 from D-Link.

The WES610N offers four Ethernet ports and can connect to an existing Wireless-N network, either on a 5GHz or 2.4GHz band. This means you can connect up to four nonwireless Ethernet-ready devices to an existing wireless network. The device is designed for home entertainment products, such as TV set-top boxes, game consoles, and other devices that tend to come without built-in wireless adapters.

The new Linksys bridge features … Read more

Belkin N750 DB router review: Almost a great deal

Generally, if you want to get a good true dual-band router, you should be prepared to spend around $130 or more.

For this reason, at a street price of less than $100, Belkin's stylish new N750 DB Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router is a steal. And this is not just a regular dual-band router; it's also one of the few on the market that offers the higher 450Mbps speed on the 5GHz band.

However, as they say, things are cheap for a reason. And for the N750 DB, this reason is not that it's a bad router but that it delivers less than it makes buyers expect.

An example of this is the fact that the router doesn't support IPv6 or the old standard WEP wireless encryption. This means it's neither future-proof nor backward-compatible with existing wireless clients that only use WEP.… Read more

Buffalo unveils dual-band Draft N router

At CES 2007, Buffalo Technology announced a Draft N dual-band wireless router, the AirStation Wireless-N Nfiniti Dual Band Router & AP (WZR-AG300NH), which supports all current Wi-Fi standards (802.11a/b/g) as well as the Draft N spec. Buffalo deviated from its vertical design with a flat-sitting base unit and a separate (cable-attached) three-antenna unit. The three antennae are arranged in a circle, and the unit resembles a small toy helicopter.

The benefit of including 802.11a support is stability when streaming voice packets or high-def video, because 802.11a operates in the 5GHz band. Common household devices such … Read more