Belkin unveils the first members of its Draft N family of networking products

Finally joining the Draft N fray is Belkin, who announced today its family of Draft N networking products, called the N1 Wireless Networking line. Belkin has chosen Atheros's XSPAN chipset to implement MIMO technology in its products. Belkin's N1 router uses the same exterior design as the Pre-N router, with three antennas arranged in a row, though the body of the N1 router is a glossy black.

Like its competitors, Belkin offers the latest wireless networking security features with its N1 family, including WPA2, WEP encryption, and an enhanced firewall. One feature Belkin offers that the others don't is a Network Status Display panel, with icons that represent each major component of a wireless network. The icons light up blue if working properly and amber if not, allowing users to quickly pinpoint the source of trouble on their networks.

The initial offerings are a router (F5D8231-4, $149.99), a notebook card (F5D8011, $99.99), and a desktop card (F58001, $119.99). A USB adapter will follow in Q3. Though Belkin announced these products today, they won't be available on retail shelves until June 15.