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Trendnet ships 802.11ac USB 3.0 adapter

Trendnet announces the availability of its USB 3.0 Wi-Fi adapter that quickly adds support for latest 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard to any Windows computer.

Dong Ngo SF Labs Manager, Editor / Reviews
CNET editor Dong Ngo has been involved with technology since 2000, starting with testing gadgets and writing code for CNET Labs' benchmarks. He now manages CNET San Francisco Labs, reviews 3D printers, networking/storage devices, and also writes about other topics from online security to new gadgets and how technology impacts the life of people around the world.
Dong Ngo
The AC1200 Dual Band Wireless USB 3.0 Adapter (model TEW-805UB) from Trendnet.
The AC1200 Dual Band Wireless USB 3.0 Adapter (model TEW-805UB) from Trendnet. Trendnet

You now can officially upgrade your Windows computer to the 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard.

Trendnet announced today the availability of the AC1200 Dual-Band Wireless USB 3.0 Adapter (model TEW-805UB). This is the networking vendor's first AC adapter, and one of a very few on the market.

The TEW-805UB supports USB 3.0, which is a must if you really want to get the speed of 802.11ac. Although the device is compatible with USB 2.0 as well, that connection caps at just 480Mbps, while the new Wi-Fi standard peaks out as fast as 1,300Mbps. The TEW-805UB doesn't offer quite the top Wi-Fi speeds; rather just the second tier of 802.11ac, which is 867Mbps -- still much faster than the existing and popular 802.11n Wi-Fi standard (aka Wireless N). (Read more about Wi-Fi standards.)

To enjoy the new speed, your home router must also support the 802.11ac standard, such as Trendnet's recently reviewed TEW-812DRU router or one of those on this list.

The TEW-805UB is a dual-band adapter and also support Wireless N with up to 300Mbps throughput speed. It's available now for $70.