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D-Link Preps First 802.11n Products

By Nate Mook, BetaNews

April 5, 2006, 1:25 PM

D-Link on Wednesday said it planned to deliver its first 802.11n capable wireless devices by the end of April, heralding the arrival of the next-generation wireless standard. Although 802.11n has not yet been finalized, hardware manufacturers are using draft specifications with ratification expected soon.

802.11n promises wireless speeds of up to 100Mbit per second, with the potential for much higher throughput in future updates. Using a technology called MIMO, or multiple-in, multiple out, an 802.11n device could have multiple antennas that handle more than one data stream at a time, thus speeding the transfer of data tremendously.

D-Link's RangeBooster N 650 series of products will make use of the AR5008 chipset from Atheros Communications. Other features of the 802.11n technology include improved stability and range, along with backwards compatibility with previous wireless standards.

"Our new RangeBooster N 650 is the perfect wireless platform for consumers looking for ultimate performance from their wireless network. It is designed to deliver more than enough bandwidth and range to handle intensive transfers of video, voice, data and next-generation media and content streaming to all corners of their digital home," said Steven Joe, president and CEO of D-Link.

D-Link's 802.11n router will retail for $159.99 USD, with desktop and USB 2.0 wireless cards priced at $119.99 USD. A 802.11n PC Card for laptops will run $99.99 USD. Other companies such as Linksys and Netgear are expected to announce similar products shortly.

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By Blackhole8746

posted Apr 6, 2006 - 11:12 AM

WiFi is doomed at least on the internet basis, of course it will remain the standard for private networks... 802.11n isn't gonna spread wide in the market because of this, 3G is the upcomming realm of broadband

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Apr 6, 2006 - 9:23 AM

Speeds. Wireless technology is SHARED like a hub, so even though the speeds are faster, its sill as slow as the lowest speed connected to Wireless...

N is good, but if you have several people connected to a Wireless Access Point, it will become slow, the more connections that are added, its not like a switch.. I am talking about connections between machines, not the AP to the internet link, that is always slower as you have more people added to the link.

Wireless AP are HUBS not SWITCHES. Still, N is very nice.

Score: 0

By Second Shadow

edited Apr 6, 2006 - 1:55 AM

Hmmmm ....
Looks like wireless speeds are catching up with hard drives' throughput speeds (and I mean REAL HDD speeds, not THEORETICAL) ....
In a year or so the HDD will be the bottleneck, not the wireless connection ...

Score: 0

By Marticus

posted Apr 6, 2006 - 3:22 AM

Are you serious? Or are you trying to be funny?

Score: 0

By gawd21

posted Apr 5, 2006 - 3:37 PM

Waiting for this. I hate waiting.lol

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Apr 6, 2006 - 9:24 AM

Belkin Pre-N its been out about 8 months now, I bought one right after they came out, you don't need to wait..

Score: 0

By mjm01010101

posted Apr 5, 2006 - 2:00 PM

I have a netgear router that claims to be pre-n. Just needs a firmware update.

Score: 0

By klingon379

posted Apr 5, 2006 - 2:15 PM

Most pre-n products are not upgradeable to the final 802.11n standard. In fact, many pre-n products were not even based on an official 802.11n draft.

Score: 0

By mjm01010101

posted Apr 5, 2006 - 2:36 PM

Interesting, where is this posted/confirmed?

Score: 0

By Das mod

edited Apr 5, 2006 - 3:04 PM

not confirmed ....

http://www.pcworld.com/n...cle/0,aid,118666,00.asp

it actually says that "pre-n" may be compatible with 802.11n
since many were INDEED based on the 802.11n draft

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Apr 6, 2006 - 9:30 AM

This is the same thing that happened with K-Flex and X between motorola and US Robotics. They were competing 56K dial-up protocols, and when the final 56 k technology was accepted, they choose to combine the two, giving us the best of both worlds, and it became v.92.

I suspect the same thing with Pre-N. Belkin (they may not be upgradeable to the Final N) will be compatible. If you buy the Pre-N now, and stick with Belkin you will be fine. N/Pre-N is compatible with A/B/G already, so that wont' change.

The only thing that will change, is that when you connect to a N router, with a Pre-N, it probably won't recognize as a true N protocol, and it will masquerade as a G. So worse case, you will end up with a 54 meg connection, instead of N speed (which should be around 250). But at least you won't be completely left out.

Score: 0

By WickedLester

edited Apr 5, 2006 - 3:44 PM

Das Mod

From that same article from the link at PCWorld that you supplied..

"Certified 802.11n products likely won't appear until early 2007. When they do, it's possible that Belkin's equipment will be incompatible with the certified gear."

That article is from the January 2005 issue. It will be interesting to see if it is compatible once some starts doing some actual test with the pre-N stuff and the certified stuff.

Score: 0

By mjm01010101

posted Apr 5, 2006 - 5:22 PM

OK so we've gone from "most" to "may" so I think I'll wait and see. If it's not compatible, I'm fairly certain they'll be a class action I can join.

Score: 0

By swattz101

posted Apr 5, 2006 - 8:00 PM

Probably not, any of the Pre-n products I saw for sell stated that they may not be compatible after 802.11n was ratified. I'm sure all the wireless companies lawyers covered thier bases before the pre-n products were put on the market.

Score: 0

By Das mod

posted Apr 5, 2006 - 7:33 PM

:P ....
i just noticed the date .....
OPPPSSS ...
thanks for pointing it out tho ...

Score: 0

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