802.11n AirPort Express hands-on

Posts with tag 802.11n


It looks like those wanting to get in on some of that 802.11n action on the (relative) cheap could soon be getting the fix they're looking for from TRENDnet, which has just announced its new 300Mbps Wireless Easy-N-Upgrader device. That, as you might have guessed, will let you upgrade your existing router (wired or wireless) to 802.11n, giving you twelve times the speed and six times the coverage of a standard wireless g network "at the touch of a button," according to the company. Given that description, we're guessing the device effectively replaces your old router more than it "upgrades" it, but TRENDnet says it'll come in at a price 15-20% below that of standalone wireless n routers, so we can't complain too much. Still no word on a release though, but TRENDnet promises it'll be the first device of its kind to market, so we'd expect it relatively soon if they want to hold on to that claim.
Chipmaker Marvell looks to have gone into full-on bragging mode today, with it announcing what it claims to be the "industry's first" 802.11n chip that operates at 450 Megabits-per-second. Dubbed the Marvell TopDog 11n-450, the chip is a 90-nanometer, 3x3 WLAN solution with three spatial streams, which the company helpfully informs us is more than eight times faster than plain old 802.11g 54 Mbps offerings, and 1.5 times faster than current 802.11n 300 Mbps options -- in theory, at least. What's more, the TopDog chip also promises a 500% range increase over 802.11g, and a still decent 160% increased range over other 802.11n solutions. While those numbers have obviously yet to be put to the test (by someone other than Marvell, that is), that detail should be able to be taken care of soon enough, as the chips are set to begin shipping in volume sometime next quarter -- and, of course, they'll be on display at CES as well.
CSIRO and aggravation tend to go hand in hand, so it's no real shock to learn that the organization is playing hard ball in a recent push to get 802.11n closer to ratification. Reportedly, CSIRO "refused to provide a letter of assurance to the IEEE working group developing the much-delayed 802.11n WiFi standard," and it cited legal discord between it and Microsoft, Intel, Dell, HP, Netgear, Toshiba, Fujitsu, Nintendo and 3Com as the primary holdup. The group's senior vice-president of licensing, Denis Redfern, was quoted as saying that "where litigation is involved, CSIRO will continue to reserve its rights in relation to licensing," so it looks like an official 802.11n standard is still that far off from being founded.
We know you've been waiting on pins and needles to hear who got firsties on draft 2.0 802.11n certification from Wi-Fi Alliance -- we sure have. It looks like D-Link is the lucky winner, with its D-Link Xtreme N Router and Xtreme N Notebook Adapter the first products to receive the new badge. That means the two devices will be sporting a new "distinctive and prestigious logo," while D-Link can start boasting of the highest level of forwards compatibility in the wild west of 802.11n products. This doesn't begin to spell doom for draft 1.0 users, but it's always good to see things settle down a bit in that space while we wait another few decades for the spec to finalize.
In a move meant to ensure compatibility across vendors, the Wi-Fi Alliance has started interoperability testing of 802.11n Draft 2.0 products. That means "WiFi Certified" products should hit for retail before summer is out. Besides sporting that swank new logo, the certification should provide some peace of mind related to WPA2 security, WMM QoS for video streaming, and compatibility with legacy 802.11a/b/g regardless of the manufacturer. While cross-platform certification testing of a draft spec is unusual and likely won't guarantee 100% compatibility, it's still a welcome step by the industry given the troubled history of interconnecting disparate 802.11 draft devices in the past. Besides, with the final IEEE spec (already two and half years in the making) not expected until September 2008, what else could Apple, Dell, Sony, Nokia, Cisco and the other 250 or so members do in the face of such mucho demand?







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