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CSIRO throws 802.11n ratification a curve
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.
Netgear gets 802.11n draft 2.0 certified with RangeMax NEXT routers
Surely bitter after being one-upped by D-Link by a matter of hours (strictly in terms of time to press, of course), Netgear is still tooting its own horn over being the second to receive the Wi-Fi Alliance's 802.11n draft 2.0 certification. The firm's first two devices to include the newfangled seal are the RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N Router Gigabit Edition (WNR854T) and the RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N Router (WNR834B; seen after the break), both of which are fully backwards compatible with the slower flavors of 802.11. Thankfully, citizens who currently own a RangeMax NEXT 802.11n Draft 1.0 product can upgrade their device free of charge via a firmware download, and Netgear even proclaims that the rest of its Wireless-N products are "being tested" and should be up to snuff soon.
Buffalo unveils draft-N WZR-AMPG300NH router, PC Card
Going over two months without releasing yet another router is quite a feat for Buffalo, but the firm is yet again giving the wireless crowd something to cheer about with its WZR-AMPG300NH. Part of the ever-growing AirStation NFINITI lineup, this draft-N device purportedly plays nice with 802.11a/b/g as well, boasts throughput of around 153Mbps, and includes MIMO technology to make full use of the trio of antennas. You'll also find the typical WPA2 certification, and if you need a WiFi adapter in order to make use of it, the WLI-CB-AMG300N PCMCIA network card fits the bill perfectly. Look for both devices to land in Japan next month (well, we hope) for ¥40,200 ($328), or pick up the router by its lonesome for ¥31,700 ($258).[Via AkihabaraNews]
NEC's goes 802.11n Draft 2.0 with Aterm WR8400N router / PCMCIA card
Last fall, NEC took its WARPSTAR lineup into the realm of draft-N with the Aterm WR8200N, and thanks to all this Draft 2.0 hubbub that's going around, apparently it figured now would be a good time to hop on the next bandwagon. The Aterm WR8400N four-port router and Aterm WL300NC PCMCIA card both tout theoretical transfer rates of around 300Mbps, are backwards compatible with 802.11a/b/g devices, support "Multi SSID" / WEP / WAP protocols, and can automatically detect and connect to signals in both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. No word just yet on price nor availability, but we're sure it'll get lost in the crowd of similar alternatives before too long anyway.[Via Impress]
Atheros offers up 802.11n Draft 2.0-spec XSPAN solutions
You'll probably recall Atheros' name from the rundown of Draft 2.0 802.11n gear mentioned just a week ago, but now the firm is getting official with its bundle of refreshed pre-N gear. The new AR9001 family of chipset solutions builds upon the existing XSPAN offerings, and is reportedly compliant with the latest IEEE draft of 802.11n. Primarily aiming for SMB and Enterprise markets, the outfit is doling out a number of AR9001AP access points / router SoCs that "integrate its 802.11n MAC / baseband and 400MHz Wireless Network Processor (WNPU) into a single chip." On the consumer front, the AR9001U sect presents the "world's first dual-band capable 802.11n USB chipset," and also includes the company's first 1x2 MIMO configuration. Unsurprisingly, pricing details on all these goodies are still up in the air, but Atheros claims that second-generation AR9001 items are currently sampling to customers and should hit " full volume production" in Q3 of this year.[Via PCWorld]
D-Link's Xtreme N Duo MediaBridge enables HD streaming
It's not too tough these days to find a router with HD streaming in its arsenal, but D-Link is aiming for a slightly different set with its dual-band Xtreme N Duo MediaBridge. Essentially, this liaison connects to your existing router in order to add 5GHz 802.11n abilities to your setup, which purportedly "helps avoid interference by allowing the user to use the 5GHz frequency band to provide a stable high-performance wireless link for streaming HD video." Clearly designed with the DIR-655 in mind, this device also allows up to five Ethernet-enabled media devices to become attached on a separate unit for even more high-definition WiFi streaming. Notably, the DAP-1555 itself doesn't seem to double as an Ethernet router, and unfortunately, you'll have to wait until the thing ships in Q3 to find out how much it'll dent your wallet.[Via SmallNetBuilder
802.11n creeps closer to finality as Draft 2.0 reaches milestone
It's been a long, hard road for all of us -- consumers, manufacturers, developers, and a little club called the 802.11n Working Group -- but the next-gen, MIMO-powered WiFi standard has finally reached an important milestone in its tortured journey from a wee pre-N to a full-fledged spec (hopefully!), with 83.4% of eligible voters approving the latest Draft 2.0 revision. As we all remember from the overwhelming initial rejection of Draft 1.0, a 75% supermajority is required for moving on to the next stage, so the fact that there was this much support coupled with relatively few comments (3,000-some versus the 12,000+ for that famous Draft 1.0 flameout) means that we may actually be on track for a planned April 2009 publication of the final IEEE spec. The best part is that since Draft 2.0 is guaranteed to be fully compatible with the finalized 802.11n, your current gear with the D 2.0 badge of honor will definitely play nice with future components. So we're in the home stretch now, folks -- all that's left is some nitpicking over technicalities and language -- and it looks like the naysayers will have been proven wrong after all; although when WiMax comes to town and makes WLANs irrelevant, there's a good chance that this whole ordeal will be quickly forgotten anyway. [Via Ars Technica]
Intel's built-in 802.11n Mini PCI card gets official
We realize that Intel has probably waited about as long as it possibly can on this not-yet-ratified 802.11n deal, but on the very day we see some rare signs of life in the 802.11 task force, Intel is making its own draft-spec 802.11n Mini PCI card official. While we've known that Intel would be backing the protocol for some time now, the company has just announced that the 4965agn card (backwards compatible with a/b/g networks) will be replacing the existing 3945abg card and should be shipping on most Vista-equipped laptops. Intel claims that its new card will offer up "five times the performance, twice the range, and greater battery life" than its predecessor. Additionally, the firm launched the "Connect with Centrino" campaign, which will force vendors such as Asus, Belkin, Buffalo, D-Link, and Netgear to pass Intel's own line of testing in order to receive its coveted seal of approval, which is just begging to cause inoperability problems whenever 802.11n goes final. Users interested in getting the latest WiFi chip in their Centrino package can look for that (probably large) palm rest sticker signifying that it's certified starting this week, and if you're completely bored interested, you can click on through to see a demonstration video on how Intel tests its own Connect with Centrino program.
802.11n going up for approval once again
Sure, they say the third time's a charm, but at this point, all "charm" in the grueling 802.11n ratification process has evaporated. Moving ever-so-slightly ahead of schedule, the IEEE's 802.11 working group has "unanimously approved Draft 1.10 of the 802.11n WiFi spec," and has now passed it along to the entire membership of the IEEE for final approval. Of course, we've certainly been down the unfortunate road before, but hopefully the folks in charge will give it the thumbs-up we all need to sanely move on with our wireless lives. Notably, there's "no set timeline" for when it expects an approval / denial decision, but if the membership does give this draft the green light, "it will be the final 802.11n specification." Now, let's all cross our collective fingers for some positive (and hasty) decision making.
Airport Extreme launched: draft 802.11n and USB hosting now supported
It may not bring the thunder like an Apple iPhone but the Airport Extreme does bring draft-N of the 802.11 WiFi standard. That means up to 5x the speed and 2x the performance of traditional WiFi networks which should deliver a bit of a rumble to the living room or office. It also support legacy 802.11a/b/g giving it full 2.4GHz and 5GHz coverage. It also features AirPort Disk, a USB host port around back allowing you to share an external USB hard drive over your wireless or wired network. Or just attach a USB printer and share that, your choice. Best of all, it should work with the unannounced, but apparently real, 802.11n draft hardware in your recently purchased Mac -- look for a software update to roll soon. By February anyway, when the Airport Extreme ships for $180.
D-Link DSM-750 MediaLounge Wireless Media Player
D-Link quietly kicked out the DSM-750 MediaLounge Wireless Media Player, a new digital media adapter with draft 802.11n WiFi. By now you probably know how these things work, this one let's you stream internet radio and supports playback of h.264 and VC-1 video files (and we presume several other major video and audio formats as well, though the release doesn't get too specific). Also has Ethernet, HDMI, component video, digital audio, and composite A/V connectors, and a USB 2.0 port for connecting up an USB mass storage drive.
SMC ships trio of draft-spec 802.11n networking gear
It looks the barrage of draft-spec 802.11n gear being released isn't slowing down anytime soon, and helping the yet-to-be-ratified protocol gain more ground is SMC. Making good on its promise to ship draft-N gear, the networking company has reportedly launched the Barricade N, which utilizes "multi-antenna MIMO support" to connect at rates of "up to 300Mbps," sports a four-port Ethernet switch, and can automatically prioritize duties such as music / video streaming to keep things skip-free. Complementing the new router are pre-N versions of the company's EZ Connect CardBus and PCI wireless adapters, which will give your lappie or desktop the ability to take advantage of the ultra-speedy 802.11n standard. All three devices are purportedly available right now, with the Barricade N selling for $120, the PCMCIA adapter demanding $80, and the PCI card costing $90.
D-Link DWA-643 Xtreme N Notebook ExpressCard gets by FCC
Looks like D-Link has hopped on the draft-N bandwagon and slammed the pedal down, as it's been releasing a flurry of 802.11n-compatibile gear of late. Yet another piece of kit that should hit US shelves soon is the firm's DWA-643 Xtreme N Notebook ExpressCard, which has just received that coveted stamp of approval from the FCC. The card sports backwards compatibility with 802.11b/g networks, WPA support, and works solely on Windows machines -- of course, this shouldn't bother you Apple laptop owners that much anyway. Per usual, the FCC isn't one to spill the beans on pricing or availability details, but we shouldn't have to hold out too much longer now that it's crossed the biggest hurdle.[Via Laptoping]
Intel gets behind pre-802.11n, adding to Centrino
Well, it doesn't look like there's any turning back now. After waiting for what feels like the better part of a century for an official stamp of approval on 802.11n, draft-n and pre-n products just got a whole lot of legitimacy from Intel, who has now announced it will be stuffing the pre-standard WiFi spec into its Centrino chipsets as early as next year. Along with the usual user benefits of added speed and supposed range improvements over 802.11g -- Intel is claiming 50 percent greater, but we'll believe that when we see it -- the inclusion of pre-n by Intel will most likely create a de-facto standard for 802.11n which could prove difficult for the IEEE Standards Committee to screw with when they finally get around to finalizing the 802.11n spec in 2008. Sounds like a win for consumers for now, but we could all be hurting come mid-2008 when we find out those fancy laptops we sprung for in 2007 are suddenly obsolete.[Via Ars Technica]
Linksys WRT350N Wireless-N Gigabit Router with Storage Link
Linksys busted out a new pre-N wireless router today, the WRT350N Wireless-N Gigabit Router with Storage Link. They're claiming wireless throughput speeds of up to 12 times 802.11g with this thing (your mileage can, and almost certainly will, vary), but if you're pushing high-def video around the house you'll take all the bandwidth you can get, right? To sweeten the deal, the WRT350N also includes a wired Gigabit switch (which is still somewhat rare in a consumer-grade router) and a USB port that'll let you turn any external USB mass storage drive into a plug-and-play Network Attached Storage device. Looks like they're shipping this thing now (or at least very soon) with a street price of $120.Update: Whoops, we knew that price sounded too good to be true. The actual MSRP is $249.Update 2: Geez, you wouldn't think that pricing on a router would be this hard to nail down. Now the word from Linksys is that the WRT350N will set you back only $229. Stay tuned for more price corrections as we receive them.
Netgear and Linksys get draft-n routers reviewed
With all the pain associated, usually there's a bit of a pay-off for early adopters. They are, after all, playing with the "latest and greatest," right? Doesn't seem to be the case with the three new draft-n routers that just hit the market. We already hit up the disappointing Buffalo WZR-G300N, and it seems Netgear's WNR854T and Linksys' WRT300N fared little better. In fact, neither product managed to best its own predecessor. The PC Mag reviewer did have a lot of love for the actual setup and feature set of both of these products, with snazzy parental controls from Linksys and a built-in Gigabit Ethernet switch from Netgear (a first for consumer routers) among the evident router maturity these two companies have reached. Sadly, the fun stopped there, since out of the box neither product managed much connectivity at all, and even after firmware updates the two routers marked up some pretty lame benchmarks. Netgear beat all with 124mbps at 10 feet and 105mbps at 60 feet, but its lame 28mbps at 120 feet and abysmal 2.8mbps at 160 feet were thoroughly trounced by Netgear's own RangeMax 240 pre-n product. Linksys, like Buffalo, didn't even manage a signal at 160 feet, and across the board lost to its own pre-n product, the SRX400. That's gotta hurt. As much as we love that bleeding edge, we think we're going to sit this round out, mmkay?Read - Netgear WNR854TRead - Linksys WRT300N
Dell to start shipping pre-N enabled laptops in Q3?
We've already seen plenty of routers, and even one laptop, embracing the pre-N standard, but industry rumblings would suggest Dell has made a large order for compatible devices that will ship in some of their third quarter lappies. Most of the time we're all for early adoption, but embedding devices that might end up being incompatible with the final version of the N standard seems awfully risky to us. Then again, we aren't billionaire business tycoons, either.
IEEE "Task Group N" rejects first 802.11n draft proposal
In a move that came as little surprise to those who know how these things work, but that will still probably hurt manufacturers who've been releasing MIMO-enabled networking peripherals for the last few months, the IEEE 802.11 working group tasked with creating a next-gen WiFi standard has recently rejected the first draft of the highly-anticipated 802.11n. Not only did the first 802.11n draft fail to capture the 75% supermajority needed for passage, it couldn't even muster a regular majority among "Task Group N," which is a troubling development for those consumers who have already gone out and purchased pre- or draft-N gear from Linksys, Netgear, and the like. As we've reported in the past, some manufacturers had warned -- and independent testing corroborated -- that draft-N gear could negatively effect current 802.11b/g products already on the market, by hogging the available 2.5GHz bandwidth and causing performance issues on existing WLANs. Still, taken in a historical perspective, rejection of the first draft of a proposed 802.11x specification is not uncommon, and actually seems to be the rule, rather than the exception, in the life-cycle of these multi-year, multi-party standards talks.
Linksys touts draft 802.11n gear interoperability
Despite earlier concerns voiced by chipset manufacturer Airgo that draft 802.11n gear will "degrade" or "disable," current 802.11b/g networks, Linksys claims that it has tested and approved its upcoming suite of draft-n routers and adapters for interoperability with current products on the market. Since 802.11n relies on the multiple channel MIMO technology to deliver higher bandwidths, there has been some speculation that pre-N networks would dominate the spectrum designated for 802.11 communications, even though the draft specification specifically requires so-called mixed mode operation. While it's certainly reassuring to know that Linksys has been working with multiple vendors to ensure that current WiFi gear will perform at "peak levels" in the presence of 802.11n signals, the real test will come when we start seeing actual real-world deployment of these speedy new networks.
Airgo and Asus team for MIMO laptop
So, you've ordered a brand-new draft-n router and want to get a laptop to match. Sure, you could always pick up a card and slot it in. But if you want a portable with the latest WiFi card built-in, you may want to take a look at the version of the Asus A6T being marketed by Asus and Airgo. The laptop includes an Airgo True MIMO card, which Airgo says is capable of throughput of up to 240 MBps, along with full backwards-compatibility with existing 802.11 networks. While we don't expect Asus to sell a whole lot of these, if you want bragging rights to the laptop with the fastest built-in WiFi networking (when operating on a compatible network, that is), now's your chance.
