SmallNetBuilder - Wireless Articles

What Do 802.11n's Optional Features Mean For You?

Tim Higgins — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:28:46 -0500

You'll have to jump through plenty of hoops to get any benefit from the optional features added in the released 802.11n spec.

D-Link DIR-825 B1 Quick Review

Tim Higgins — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:00:35 -0500

D-Link's update to its popular dual-band, dual-radio N router demonstrates that there is more to product performance than just the chipsets used.

Atheros Announces Three-Stream 802.11n Device Family;Combo Single-Stream / Bluetooth Chip

Tim Higgins — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:21:06 -0500

Atheros today launched a new 802.11n product family using three streams to provide 450 Mbps maximum link rates.

Buffalo Adds Low-Cost N Router

Tim Higgins — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:47:54 -0500

Buffalo Technology has announced a new single-band 802.11n router.

About That New Airport Extreme...

Tim Higgins — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:07:13 -0400

I've been getting an unusually high number of requests for a review of Apple's latest tweak of its Airport Extreme. But you probably won't be getting a review, at least not any time soon.

New To The Charts: ASUS RT-N16 Multi-functional Gigabit SuperSpeedN Router

Tim Higgins — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:34:23 -0400

The ASUS RT-N16 Multi-functional Gigabit SuperSpeedN Router has been added to the Router and Wireless Charts.

Wi-Fi Alliance Brings New Life to Wireless Ad Hoc

Tim Higgins — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:42:25 -0400

Updated The Wi-Fi Alliance today announced that it is getting close to completing a new specification for direct connection among wireless clients without using a wireless router or access point.

NETGEAR Announces Open Source N Router

Tim Higgins — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:50:07 -0400

NETGEAR today announced a single-band 802.11n router that can be loaded with DD-WRT, OpenWRT or Tomato open source firmware.

Don't Mess With WMM!

Tim Higgins — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:30:17 -0400

Disabling WMM support in your 802.11n router can limit you to 802.11g speeds.

Wi-Fi Alliance Kicks Off New 802.11n Test Program

Tim Higgins — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:43:01 -0400

The Wi-Fi Alliance today announced that is has begun product testing under its Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n program.

WiGig Alliance Grows

Tim Higgins — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:15:36 -0400

The WiGig Alliance today announced five new members, bringing total membership to more than 20 companies.

Gentlemen, Start Your Buying: NETGEAR WNDR3700 RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router Reviewed

Tim Higgins — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:40:31 -0400

NETGEAR gets into the simultaneous dual-band 802.11n routing game for real this time.

802.11n Is Finally Final

Tim Higgins — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:05:37 -0400

The IEEE Standards Board today approved the 802.11n Standard for Enhancements for Higher Throughput.

First 802.11n Compatibility Guarantee Announced

Tim Higgins — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 07:31:33 -0400

Proxim Wireless today became the first company to guarantee compatibility of draft 802.11n wireless gear with the upcoming released standard.

Wireless Cash For Clunkers Promotion Launched

Tim Higgins — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 07:20:26 -0400

Meraki has announced a "Cash for Wireless LAN Clunkers" promotion to get owners of 802.11b/g wireless LANs to upgrade to Meraki' 802.11n WLAN gear.

Atheros Buying Intellon

Tim Higgins — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:27:11 -0400

Atheros today announced it was buying HomePlug chipmaker Intellon in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $244 M.

Curb Your Enthusiasm! NETGEAR WNDR3700 RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router Previewed

Tim Higgins — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:32:18 -0400

Will NETGEAR's long-awaited dual-band, dual-radio draft 11n router live up to its hype? We take a first look at the odds.

NETGEAR Sends The WNDR3700 Into The Wild

Tim Higgins — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:12:53 -0400

NETGEAR today announced the start of shipments of its WNDR3700 RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router.

Linksys by Cisco WRT160NL Wireless-N Broadband Router with Storage Link Retest

Tim Higgins — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:00:00 -0400

An updated driver for our Intel WiFi Link 5300 test client helps Cisco's Linux-based draft 11n router move up in the Wireless Charts.

ASUS Adds Draft 11n Router with Printer, Storage Sharing

Tim Higgins — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:14:42 -0400

ASUS has announced a draft 802.11n router that supports USB printer and storage sharing.

TRENDnet Adds Draft 11n Travel Router

Tim Higgins — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:52:21 -0400

TRENDnet has announced what it says is the "world's smallest" draft 802.11n travel router.

Not-So-Brilliant Disguise: Linksys By Cisco WRT120N Wireless-N Home Router Reviewed

Tim Higgins — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:38:41 -0400

The WRT120N is Cisco's entry into the single-stream draft 802.11n market. But don't go crying to them if it only works at 802.11g speeds.

Fluke Buying AirMagnet

Tim Higgins — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:02:07 -0400

Network test company Fluke Networks today announced a definitive agreement to acquire wireless test leader AirMagnet.

D-Link Announces Single-Stream Draft 11N Router and Adapter

Tim Higgins — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:41:54 -0400

D-Link today announced that it is shipping a single-stream Draft 802.11n router and companion USB adapter.

Buffalo Nfiniti Wireless-N High Power Router & Access Point Reviewed

Craig Ellison — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:01:48 -0400

Buffalo's WZR-HP-G300NH top-of-line draft 802.11n router really does have higher transmit power than its competitors. But does that translate into better performance?

Three Things You Should Know About The Linksys WRT120N

Tim Higgins — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:43:45 -0400

Cisco is not being clear about the limitations of its entry-level "N" router.

New To The Charts: Buffalo Technology Nfiniti Wireless-N High Power Router & Access Point

Tim Higgins — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:01:09 -0400

The Buffalo Technology Nfiniti Wireless-N High Power Router & Access Point (WZR-HP-G300NH) has been added to the Router (/router-charts/) and Wireless Charts (/wireless-charts/).

Wi-Fi Alliance 802.11n Certification Change Complicates Consumer Choices

Tim Higgins — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:23:32 -0400

The Wi-Fi Alliance today said that it would add tests to its released-standard 802.11n Certification program, but not require re-certification of previously-approved products.

It's Official: 802.11n Should Be Final In September

Tim Higgins — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:17:10 -0400

Documents released today by the IEEE TGn confirm plans to present the standard for ratification in September.

Linksys WGA600N Dual-Band Wireless-N Gaming Adapter Reviewed

Tim Higgins — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:14:32 -0400

The WGA600N is another good dual-band draft 802.11n bridge from Cisco, with one key advantage over its WET610N sibling.

Slideshow: Linksys WGA600N Dual-Band Wireless-N Gaming Adapter

Tim Higgins — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:46:00 -0400

The WGA600N is a close cousin to Cisco's Linksys WET610N. Both are dual-band wireless bridges built with draft 802.11n technology. Read the review.

Smashed Mash-up: D-Link DIR-685 Reviewed

Craig Ellison — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:22:38 -0400

To paraphrase Obi-wan: Move along. This is not the wireless router that you're looking for.

MetaGeek Adds 900 MHz Spectrum Analyzer

Tim Higgins — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 06:11:45 -0400

MetaGeek has announced the general availability of a USB spectrum analyzer for the 900 MHz band, priced at $199.

ASUS Adds Draft 11n Gigabit Router

Tim Higgins — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:15:17 -0400

ASUS has announced a new single-band draft 802.11n router with Gigabit Ethernet WAN and LAN.

New To The Charts: D-Link DIR-685 Xtreme N Storage Router

Tim Higgins — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:37:26 -0400

The D-Link Xtreme N Storage Router (DIR-685) has been added to the Router (/router-charts/) and Wireless Charts (/wireless-charts/).

Router Without A Reason: Belkin N150 Wireless Router Reviewed

Tim Higgins — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:00:00 -0400

Consumer networking makers are pitching single-stream draft 11n routers as better buys than 11g. But if Belkin's N150 router and USB client are any indication, it's just another case of marketeers' wishful thinking.

MetaGeek Brings Back $99 Wi-Fi Spectrum Analyzer

Tim Higgins — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:30:47 -0400

It looks like the recession may have spurred the originator of inexpensive Wi-Fi spectrum analysis to roll back its pricing for 2.4 GHz WLAN spectrum analysis.

Linksys by Cisco WRT160NL Wireless-N Broadband Router with Storage Link Reviewed

Tim Higgins — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:08:17 -0400

Cisco decided it was time to produce a draft 11n router for hackers. But there is little other reason to pay a premium price for it.

Does Wi-Fi MultiMedia (WMM) Really Do Anything? - Part 3

Tim Higgins — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:00:00 -0400

In Part 3 of our series, we find no help from WMM for media streaming.

Does Wi-Fi MultiMedia (WMM) Really Do Anything? - Part 2

Tim Higgins — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:36:18 -0400

In Part 2 of our series, we actually see the elusive WMM beastie in action!

Qualcomm Throws Down Four-Stream Draft 802.11n Chipset

Tim Higgins — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:28:32 -0400

Qualcomm today introduced a dual-band 4x4 802.11n chipset capable of a top raw data rate of 600 Mbps.

Does Wi-Fi MultiMedia (WMM) Really Do Anything? - Part 1

Tim Higgins — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:56:09 -0400

We begin our quest to try to reap the benefits of this wireless QoS technology that has been around since 2004.

ZyXEL Introduces Dual-band Draft 802.11n Biz AP

Tim Higgins — Thu, 21 May 2009 05:57:12 -0400

ZyXEL has introduced a dual-band draft 802.11n wireless AP / WLAN controller targeted at business applications.

D-Link Adds Dual-Band Draft 11n Outdoor AP

Tim Higgins — Tue, 19 May 2009 07:52:07 -0400

D-Link today announced what it described as its first commercial grade draft 802.11n exterior access point.

802.11n Headed for September Ratification

Tim Higgins — Thu, 14 May 2009 08:12:54 -0400

SmallNetBuilder has learned from a reliable source that the final issues in 802.11n have been resolved in this week's meeting of the IEEE TGn in Montreal.

Why WiGig?

Tim Higgins — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:32:01 -0400

Why has a second group been formed to bring 60 GHz wireless networking to market?

Mvix Announces Tiny Single-Stream Draft 802.11n Adapter

Tim Higgins — Wed, 06 May 2009 10:04:50 -0400

Mvix today announced what it claims is the world’s smallest "Wireless-N" adapter.

New Consortium Launched to Create and Promote 60 GHz Wireless

Tim Higgins — Wed, 06 May 2009 08:21:07 -0400

The Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig) today was outed one day before its scheduled launch.

D-Link Ends 802.11b Feedback Experiments

Tim Higgins — Tue, 05 May 2009 05:47:38 -0400

D-Link today informed SmallNetBuilder that it has ended D-Link's "feedback" gathering exercise on 802.11b for its DIR-655 and DIR-825 draft 802.11n routers.

D-Link Offers Another 802.11b Disable Opportunity

Tim Higgins — Fri, 01 May 2009 04:21:12 -0400

D-Link appears to still be attempting to get feedback about users' willingness to disable 802.11b capability in return for access to bugfixes for another of its popular draft 802.11n routers.