Hello! This is Dong Ngo for CNET.com, and today we'll check out a very unusual router,
the KR2 from Kyocera.
At first glance, there's nothing so unusual about this router. It has 3 antenna on the back
and we actually don't like this 'cause they're crowding the network ports. The router has
5 of them 4 LAN ports and one WAN port. These ports are all regular 100Mbps Ethernet,
which is a little disappointing.
On the front, the router has the usual suspects: the LED lights that indicate the activities
of the ports on the back as well as its wireless status.
OK, so far, nothing that you've never seen in a router before. Well, let's turn the router to
the side. Here we'll find a few unusual slots, there's PC card slot, an Express Card slot
and a USB port. These port and slots have one same function: They allow the router to
work with a CDMA wireless data card. In short, aside from regular functions found in
any wireless routers, the KR2 allows you to share your CMDA cellular Internet
connection that otherwise is available to you and you alone on your laptop computer.
It's easy to make this work, just unplug the card from your computer, plug in the
appropriate slot of the router, wait for a few minutes and that's about it. Your cellular
Internet connection is now available to up to 32 other wifi clients. This is also a drawback
of the KR2, it can support only 32 wireless clients at a time. Other routers generally
support up to 254 wireless clients.
There's also another catch: the price. At about $250 it's easily twice the price of other
high-end Wireless-N routers. You will also need the CDMA card too, that's about
another $50 or so depending on the provider. The router works with any CDMA data
services.
Ok so it's bulky and expensive, who would want this? Well if you live in a remote area
where regular broadband services like DSL or Cable are not available, this is an ideal,
and could possibly be the only solution. It also works very well for those who travel
frequently in a group, like a construction team or a mobile laboratory.
Once again my name Dong Ngo and this has been the first look at the KR2 Mobile
Router from Kyocera.
