ASUS' ultra-thin RT-N56U router reflects on its CeBIT display
By Ross Miller 
posted March 4th 2010 12:07PM
posted March 4th 2010 12:07PM
posted March 4th 2010 12:07PM
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Come on Engadget: you post about an ultra-thin router and then give us a video and lots of photos showing the broad front. The angled shots that show glimpses of the side make me think there's no way they could cram USB and ethernet jacks into those dimensions, so it's got to bulk out somewhere.
If you want to show us an ultra-thin router, please *show us* the ultra-thin bit in all its glory. Not the broad front bit.
@Art
Nuff said
@rhesusplus I agree. You can't put ultra-thin in the headline, and then give us 7 pictures and a video not showing how thin it is...
@Art
seems like in the video there is a reflection in the background. the router looks like it has a triangular shape on the back with one side being super thin while sloping out to a fat side where i'm assuming all the ports are...
@aringpingpong
You're right, but it's not exactly clear how deep that is seeing as Engadget didn't want to show it to us: it almost looks like it could be pretty fat to me. Which brings me back to my original point: if Engadget wanted to show us a super thin router they should have shown us the super thin bit, because we can't really tell much from from a fuzzy reflection with no real scale reference.
@Art
I just want to know where all the ports are?
@giyad In the bottom. Get out your SawzAll.
Actually, I'm gonna assume on the ugly-ass back side - the side Engadget agreed not to show.
@Art Look at the reflection in the second picture. It's obviously not "ungodly thin" except at the edge.
@Art If this is wall mountable, it could be awesome. Imagine a couple of these bolted to the walls of your house. An AP version of this would be awesome.
@Art
Its kinda of BEHIND A GLASS WALL!
Last I checked engadget still has to review a device that can make you go through walls to take pics of other devices.
@abedinthehouse Sure there's such a thing: it's known as a hammer. But seriously, they should have taken a shot focusing on the image in the mirror behind the router.
Great shots, beautiful router... but where exactly does one hook ethernet up to this beauty? Would like to see some shots of the ports if possible.
It's a router, you're not supposed to display it, you're supposed to hide it somewhere.
@chispito Yeah, but put it in a manilla envelope and you will always have web access handy.
worst video ever
who would have thought one might actually want to display their router...
If you look there is a mirror behind the router. It looks thicker then what the front makes it out to be.
It's not that thin... you can see the reflection on the mirror behind it (00:23). It has sharp edges, but it also has a bulky back... like a CRT monitor.
Am I correct?
Show me the port, RJ45's, USB's, power.....
If the only place it needs to bulk out is a bit where ports extrude from then that's cool..
@excelsium
Actually I wonder how cool it actually will be. I have their RT-N16 and it has issues with the wifi because the chips dont have enough cooling. Slim designs usually arent known for their cooling ability, so this may not be so cool after all.
Dear The World,
I would like to buy a router that doesn't lock up every day, or every other day, or every week. I would imagine it wouldn't be this hard to do, but I feel as though I'm running out of brands to try.
Thank you.
Won't drag me away from getting DIR-655. I might be the only on here, but I love the look of routers. I don't try to display them, but I don't hide them either. I love seeing them at work, in all their nerdy glory.
While there's no rule that says that network gear can't be artsy and I can recognize the eye candy aspect of this router, I have to ask...why?
Unless you live in a studio apartment, your network gear is probably going to be stuffed in a closet somewhere. I can't see myself paying a premium for something like this when I know that once deployed, even *I* am not going to see it.
My router could be slim and sexy or a massive block colored in puke green...its still going in the corner of my room where no one can see it.
I can't tell but does this thing not have any ports?
I guess its kinda like compairing your hp/dell box tower to a coolmaster tower... one you hide under the desk the other you proudly display next to your desk.... for me I have no qualms stuffing my router away ontop of a cabnet above my refrigerator and never thinking twice about it.
on a seperate note: give us a side view engadget! you are propagating a missconception that the full router is as thin as the edge. we want you to be honest to your readers, your not ASUS's marketing team! leave the hype to them and show US the product!
If it runs DD-WRT or Tomato I'm happy. Aging WR850Gs and WRT54G(L)s need replacing.
I want a router that sports tiny semaphore flags in lieu of activity lights.
Bunch of damn whiners on here... They clearly stated that the router is behind a glass wall, kinda hard to get a picture of the back when you cant get to it. your best bet is :22 in the video. The mirrored image behind the router
@TechJunkie21 They should have just held the camera over the router and focused on the reflection in the mirror behind it. You can catch a little of it in the 2nd picture.
Asus has a few faults but I love em! This is a wonderful looking router. If it does dual wireless (B and G/N) at the same time I will seriously think about picking one of these up should they start showing up in the US. Weill wait for reviews of course before I start thinking about replacing my D-Link DIR-655.
I will get this.
But where do the ethernet and usb ports fit on this thing? Through some sort of magic?
Wow so daft, he shows smarts by deciding for a video then fails completely by only shooting the front, facepalm.
And also you can use a polarizing filter against reflection and you should always have one when going to a thing like CEBIT in a professional capacity, or maybe an assistant with a large black (fordable) sheet, for areas that aren't busy obviously.
Sound like nice specs and features though so the thinness isn't that relevant.
gasp