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D-Link's DSL-510 MediaLounge streams HD... over Ethernet (yawn)
D-Link just busted out another MediaLounge wireless media player: the DSM-510. This 1080i, HD streamer (over fixed 10/100 Ethernet, only) sports 802.11b/g WiFi for less demanding media (music, pictures, etc), and streams via Microsoft's Windows Media Connect or any UPnP media servers. The device supports a decent set of codecs: video support includes MPEG-1/2/4, WMV9, XVID with MP3 or PCM, AVI (MPEG-4 layer only) and DVR-MS; MP3, WAV Audio, WMA and AIFF (PCM only) and Ogg Vorbis audio; JPEG and JPEG2000, TIFF 9 (RGB only), non-compressed BMP, PNG and GIF images. Oh, and this model receives a Viiv certification as well. Like the DSM-520 we saw in March, the 510 features HDMI and composite outs as well as optical digital audio for 5.1-channel sound. Fine, we know D-Link is doing the best they can given the sorry state of high-speed, in-home, wireless (and wired) technologies. But damn, what everyone really wants is hi-def streaming gear based on ratified 802.11n, HD over UWB, or Wireless HDMI. Product, please? [Via AVING]
D-Link announces Draft-N router, cards, adds WiMAX router
It's been a little while since we've heard from D-Link's WiFi department, but boy have they been busy. The D just released four new wireless products, including two Draft-N wireless cards: one for your desktop (DWA-552), and one for your laptop (DWA-652), a'course. But if you're gunning for something that is a little cooler, you could get your 802.11n on with the DIR-655 WiFi Draft-N gigabit Ethernet router (pictured). D-Link also touts its "Intelligent QoS Technology" so that your network traffic can be prioritized -- so there's less of a chance that your Skype call to your loved one across the world will drop while you've got multiple downloads going. If those three weren't enough, D-Link has also entered the "WiMAX consumer premise equipment" market, with its WiMAX router that combines the new wide-area wireless standard and traditional WiFi in the same box. And if you really want to know the nitty-gritty, this one supports WMAN and PHY protocols, as well as adaptive modulation. Still, in all of its excitement, The D neglected to tell us when nor how much we'll need to fork over to get our grubby hands all over any of these shiny wireless devices.Update: A few astute commenters have pointed out that we read this one a little too fast. The press release states: "D-Link's new Xtreme N Gigabit Router (DIR-655) and optional adapters are available now at select retail outlets and will be available from D-Link's extensive network of value-added resellers, distributors and retail outlets and at www.dlinkshop.com this quarter. The manufacturer's suggested retail prices (MSRP) are $199.99 for the router, and $119.99 each for the Xtreme N Notebook Adapter (DWA-652) and Xtreme N Desktop Adapter (DWA-552)."[Via TGDaily]Read - Press releaseRead - DIR-655Read - DIR-552Read - DIR-652Read - WiMAX router
D-Link's V-Click: an overpriced, rebadged GSM VoIP phone
D-Link's got a so-called new line-up of dual-mode WiFi VoIP / GSM V-Click phones for ya. The big selling point of course, is the ability to quickly toggle between your tri-band 900/1800/1900MHz GSM/GPRS network or unspecified 802.11 WiFi to make low cost VoIP calls. The magic here is in that "v-click" button along the side which flips the WiFi radio. Once enabled, users can make SIP-based VoIP calls or hit the web over the bundled Opera Mobile browser and 176x220 pixel display. Hmmm, those specs sure smack of that Taiwanese GW1 peeped at CES from Winstron NeWeb Corp and unfurled as the Neuf Twin dual-mode handset already on sale in France. Let's see, same screen, same dimensions, same radios... yup, we're calling it a rebadge. So are you really going to give D-Link $600 for their logo when it drops in Q1 or pick-up an unlocked, €200/$250 Twin sans contract from your friendly electronics importer? Yeah, thought so.
D-Link launches 2-bay network storage enclosure
D-Link has added another option to its line-up of network storage solutions, the dual-bay bring-yo'-own-drives DNS-323 Network Storage Enclosure. Just drop either one or two 3.5-inch SATA drives into this sucker and you'll be able to access your files on your home network and anywhere else via the Internet thanks to the little black box's built-in FTP server. It also packs UPnP AV support for streaming content to compatible media players, as well as a USB print server port. Unlike D-Link's DSM-G600, however, this one doesn't have any built-in WiFi capabilities. If that's not too much of an inconvenience, you can snag one of these right now for $229.99, and apparently even under $200 at some retailers. [Via TG Daily]
Vonage and D-Link spawn the VWR VoIP router
Vonage you dirty, dirty minx you. Introducing the D-Link VWR four-in-one home networking and VoIP solution. This broadband router packs in an 802.11b/g WiFi access point, 4 port Ethernet switch, and two standard phone jacks to connect a multi-line phone to Vonage's service. Nothing we haven't seen before from the likes of Thomson, ZyXel and others blanketing similar territories only without the boost of Vonage's brand recognition. Of course, Vonage was in bed with Linksys back in the 2004 VoIP heyday with the nearly identical WRT54GP2 VoIP WiFi router. With the freshman fat gone, we guess the ol' girl's prowling the mean VoIP streets for tricks again. So go ahead, take her home for a mere $60 bucks for the box plus another $10 for shipping and $30 for activation -- hell, best just offer her a $Benjamin or move along.[Via Slashphone]
D-Link DSM-520 wireless HD media player review
Currently, there are a few good ways to stream your high-def content to your HDTV and D-Link's DSM-520 is an oldie but a goodie. This guy was introduced into the market about a year ago and at that time, CNET gave it a great review. The product has since been introduced into the Canadian market and this spurred another set of reviews. If you are looking to stream high-def content to your HDTV, take a look at this product. It does a great job at streaming your media files over a wired or wireless network. The only hiccup some people might run into is that it won't play all of your favorite media files, but will play MPEG 1, MPEG 2, MPEG 4, XviD, AVI, and WMV9. The guy also has HDMI and component outputs. Not to bad for a $250 product.How do you stream your high-def content to your HDTV?
D-Link releases RangeBooster line of draft-N gear
Probably feeling left out now that all its competitors have released gear conforming to the troubled draft-802.11n WiFi standard, D-Link has finally entered the game with a pair of routers that promise increased range and throughput over traditional 802.11/a/b/g equipment while maintaining compatibility with previously deployed products. So far the reviews we've read about similar routers from Linksys, Buffalo, and Netgear have not been all that positive, so we're not expecting too much from the 3-antenna RangeBooster N 650 and 2-antenna Rangebooster N, although the fact that you can pick up the latter for under a hundred bucks may convince you to give it a try. Still, you're probably not gonna get anywhere near the bandwidth that D-Link promises, and with the controversy over 802.11n still raging on, you're probably better off with a MIMO-equipped 802.11g model instead.Read- RangeBooster N 650Read- RangeBooster N[Via PCMag]
D-Link launches 3G Securicam DCS-2120 wireless internet camera
D-Link's got a new weapon for anyone looking to keep an eye on burglars and other unwanted trespassers on their premises, the Securicam DCS-2120, a wireless security camera with 3G mobile video support. So now you'll be able to obsessively peep what's going on at your home or business from just about anywhere (with 3G service, that is) via your 3G-equipped phone or PDA. And if that's not enough for ya, the camera also has its own CPU and web server, which'll throw up a live feed that you can access from any web browser, as well as built-in 802.11g for additional networking options, including using multiple cameras. The specs for the camera itself are otherwise pretty standard, with a 640 x 480 resolution capturing video at "up to" 30 frames per second. D-Link's press release says the camera will launch in the U.K. sometime in July for £179.97, but it looks like it's already on sale over here for about $300 US.[Via Tech Digest]
Vonage and D-Link team for VTA phone adaptor
Ever the philanderer, D-Link is partnering with VoIP heavyweight Vonage for hardware production, after busting out a Skype phone adapter just this January. They're kicking off their new partnership with the Voice Terminal Adaptor (VTA), a pretty plain jane Internet telephone adaptor which supports two lines, call waiting, call forwarding and caller ID. Luckily you can't beat the VTA's price: free. The device has a MSRP of $49.99, but new subscribers at Vonage direct can get the box with a $49.99 instant rebate -- though they will need to fork over $10 for shipping.[Via PhoneMag]
D-Link relents, agrees to halt its "NTP vandalism"
Although we never got that press release we wanted from D-Link addressing accusations that it was engaging in so-called "NTP vandalism," the company has apparently seen the error of its ways and been shamed into come to a settlement with the Danish admin whose time server its routers were programmed -- without permission -- to regularly query. In the absence of any government-sponsored options, Poul Henning-Kamp had set up his own NTP server (with donated bandwidth) so that 2,000-odd Danish server administrators could reliably sync their clocks, but because D-Link began coding the server's address into all of their hardware, Henning-Kamp's traffic skyrocketed and his ISP threatened to hit him with a multi-thousand-dollar bill. After writing an open letter exposing D-Link's misdeeds, Henning-Kamp finally heard back from the company that had previously been ignoring him, and the two parties apparently agreed that products already on the market can continue to query the server (which means some sort of payment was probably made), but that D-Link will remove its address from hardware manufactured in the future. Lesson learned: if you've got a problem with a big, faceless corporation, instead of wasting your time in fruitless attempts to contact their lawyers and executives, just make a big public stink until someone pays you to shut up.
Danish server admin exposes D-Link's "NTP vandalism"
It seems that incompetence on the part of the coders who write network hardware manufacturing giant D-Link's router firmware, and possibly even more insidious willful ignorance at higher levels of the company, may force Denmark's only networked time server to permanently shut down its vital public service. Apparently thousands of Danish servers use Poul-Henning Kamp's pro bono publico NTP server to sync their own clocks -- which is hosted for free by the Danish Internet Exchange (DIX) with the understanding that it is restricted to server-level access, but whose address D-Link hard coded into their device firmware without ever having asked Kamp's permission. The traffic from D-Link devices consists of well over 75% of the packets that the server handles, and has caused DIX to hit Kamp with an $8,800 per year connection fee that may mean the end of the free service and extra work for those thousands of Danish admins, not to mention the embarrassment Danes will have to face when mocked for living in an NTP-free technological backwater (despite their army's snazzy MP3 pillows). Kamp claims that although D-Link is well aware of the issue (they've since updated some, but not all, of the firmware on their site), but instead of fixing their mistake and encouraging customers to upgrade their firmware, the company simply offered Kamp an unspecified amount of "hush" money that doesn't even cover his most direct expenses. Hey D-Link, please drop us a press release if and when you decide to address this issue, because we think your "NTP vandalism" isn't very cool.[Via The Inquirer]
