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Netgear and Harman Kardon’s smart speaker doubles as a WiFi repeater
An unlikely partnership between router maker Netgear and audio company Harman Kardon has resulted in a smart speaker that does just a little bit more than its competitors. The Orbi Voice isn't just another Alexa speaker, it's got serious sound pedigree and it acts as a WiFi repeater too, spreading internet while it's pumping tunes.
Amped Wireless' REA20 range extender shipping on August 21st for $199 (video)
If your property stretches out more than 10,000 square feet, then you've probably already invested in one or more of Amped Wireless' long-range WiFi gear. If you haven't, however, then the company is hoping to lure you in with its latest unit, the REA20 range extender. The new hardware comes with Amped's trademark dual-band 802.11ac tech and promises to add another 10,000 square feet of your sprawling compound with reliable wireless internet. It's available to pre-order for $199 from the company's website and will begin shipping on August 21st before making its way out to traditional retail stores by the end of the month.
Satechi releases $40 mini router that fits in a purse, works as a repeater
If you've ever found yourself stuck in the only corner of a hotel room where the WiFi actually works, then Satechi may be able to get you back to the desk. Its Multifunction Mini-Router not only gives you a private, 300 Mbps WiFi access point from a hotel's wired internet, but functions as a repeater that can distribute a weak wireless signal elsewhere in the room, too. It also works as a standard home router, of course, and even has a bridge mode which lets you take an existing WiFi network and re-transmit it with a different name (and security), useful for combo networks like those in a cafe, for instance. Finally, the client mode lets you plug the Satechi box into a wired device like a Smart TV or set top box to give it WiFi capability -- letting you dodge the hefty freight of proprietary WiFi dongles often not included with such devices. That's a lot of functionality for $40, but if we had you at "WiFi repeater," check the PR and video after the break.
Amped Wireless caps off its new range with a dual-band repeater
Anyone keeping track of Amped Wireless' new range of dual-band products might have spotted that repeater-shaped hole in the team. It should come as no surprise that the company is now unveiling its SR20000G repeater, capable of extending your wireless network by a further 10,000 square feet. Built with the same five Ethernet jacks and USB 2.0 port for file sharing that we saw on its brother, it'll set you back $180 when it arrives later this month.
Amped Wireless High Power R10000G Router and Smart Repeater hands-on
Until now, Amped Wireless has been best known for its industrial networking gear, capable of maintaining a signal up to 1.5 miles away from the base station. Now, though, the outfit's also selling some equipment for folks with a more modest setup: the R10000G Home Router and SR10000 Smart Repeater, which promise to coat 10,000 square feet of your abode / office in robust, high-quality WiFi. Of course, we just had to test these claims out for ourselves, and see if these units really were formidable enough to leave our own router crying in the corner. We devised three simple experiments to see how they hold up in the real world -- head on past the break to find out how they fared.
Amped Wireless gives your WiFi 1.5-mile range: never lose signal in the garden again
Those of us stationed inside the Engadget compound are always wishing we had better WiFi signal at the outer reaches of the battlements. Thank heavens for Amped Wireless' range of professional networking tools. With a 600mW amplifier and a high-gain bi-directional antenna, its SR600EX Pro Smart Repeater can expand the range of your internet transmissions by up to 1.5 miles. The device also has two extra network ports for other devices and is designed for large buildings, boats, RVs or, you know... massive gadget labs. On the other hand, the AP600EX Pro Access Point can sit on the end of a wired network and do the same job for building-to-building connections. Both devices come with a 30-foot power-over-ethernet cable and are available today for $180.
Apple patent app sheds light on wireless charging dreams, NFMR love affair
Apple threw quite the wireless party by introducing PC Free and iCloud at yesterday's WWDC keynote, but it seems that the engineers in Cupertino may have even more tricks up their sleeve. Judging by a recently filed patent application, the company's hoping to add charging to its list of cord-cutting services. Specifically, the patent describes building a NFMR (near-field magnetic resolution) power supply directly into your iMac so it can charge your iPhone, iPad, or even peripherals -- such as a keyboard or mouse, when equipped with a special antenna -- without the assistance of your ol' trusty charging cords or batteries. Sporting a somewhat mature iMac that's operating sans NFMR? Pop a special USB dongle in that bad boy and presto, you're good to go. The patent points out that the range is limited to one meter, though there may be ways to install repeaters in peripherals to extend that distance further. Of course, patents won't guarantee we'll be grabbing the scissors to cut our cords anytime soon, but at least we won't have to rely on these things for the rest of eternity.
Research shocker! Keyless car entry systems can be hacked easily, elegantly
We know you are vigilant enough not to trust your car's security to a wireless system, but plenty of other folks like the convenience of putting away the metallic keys and getting into their vehicles with a bit of Bond-like swagger. Professor Srdjan Capkun of ETH Zurich found himself perched on the fence between these two groups when he recently purchased a vehicle with a keyless entry system, so he did what any good researcher would: he tried to bypass its security measures. In total, he and his team tested 10 models from eight car makers and their results were pretty conclusive: each of the tested vehicles was broken into and driven away using a very simple and elegant method. Keyless entry systems typically work by sending a low-powered signal from the car to your key fob, with the two working only when they're near each other, but the wily Zurich profs were able to intercept and extend that signal via antennas acting as repeaters, resulting in your key activating your car even when it's nowhere near it. The signal-repeating antennae have to be pretty close to both the key and the car, but that's why heist movies stress the importance of teamwork. Hit the source link for all the chilling details.
Gefen announces HDMI v1.3 Repeater: $199 for an extra 100 feet
Aw c'mon, $2 per foot ain't bad, now is it? While we'll happily leave that decision to you, Gefen is giving prospective customers the option of extending their HDMI 1.3 signal another 100 feet for $199. The GefenTV Repeater for HDMI 1.3 links a pair of 50-foot (or shorter) HDMI cables together in order to create a longer connection without losing any audio / image fidelity. Additionally, multiple units can be daisy-chained for extensions up to 360-feet, and of course, the adapter plays nice with legacy HDMI versions as well as 1.3 niceties such as Deep Color, 1080p resolution and 8-channel audio. It's available to order right now.[Via Widescreen Review]
Impact Acoustics reveals diminutive HDMI repeater
It's not the first HDMI repeater you've seen, and it most definitely won't be the last. Impact Acoustics is pumping out its own tiny box in order to extend that HDMI signal of yours another 130-feet (or 200-feet if using two). Nothing too special going on with this one, just the obligatory HDMI 1.3, Deep Color, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio and 1080p support. If this is just the thing you've been looking for to run HDMI to your garage / sun room / etc., you can claim your own for a penny under $200.
NetEquality makes Meraki Mini WiFi router even easier to utilize
While the issue of stealing borrowing other's WiFi has taken on a whole new meaning now that the law is involved, there's still nothing wrong with hitting up your own mesh networking setup in order to extend your range without coughing up big bucks for name brand repeaters. Meraki's Mini WiFi router certainly gave the tinkering crowd a way to implement such luxuries on the cheap, but for those totally freaked out by the mere sight of PCB, NetEquality feels your pain. In a presumed effort to get uber-cheap networking abilities to the masses, the kind folks over there have wrapped the Mini in a neat wall-plug package, providing a "truly plug-and-play" method of adding a signal booster / repeater to your network. No Ethernet jack is built-in, however, so you'll need a wireless network to begin with, but coming in at just $79, this isn't a half bad way to extend the waves of your precious connection.[Via GigaOM]
Underground / indoor GPS repeater maintains your position
Sure, there's a number of uber-sensitive GPS receivers out there that claim to maintain your position whilst under a bridge, in a tunnel, or cramped up in some thick-walled office building, but a recent patent application is looking to implement a repeater system to ensure the best possible geo-location data regardless of your surroundings. Rather than utilizing a WiFi / GPS hybrid method to keep track of objects, the GPS repeater system would require multiple GPS antennae to be setup atop buildings and other obstructions, which would be wired to an indoor RF repeater system that directional receivers could tap into. The indoor segment would not only repeat the signals, but it would reportedly amplify them as well to ensure a solid connection. While we've no idea if this admittedly bright idea will ever go commercial, we can't help but wonder how folks like Jack Bauer already seem to be taking advantage of it.
Ruckus Wireless' MetroFlex DZ brings outdoor WiFi inside
Although we wouldn't advise that you use Ruckus Wireless' latest gizmo on a faraway neighbor's stray WiFi signal if you're housin' it in Singapore, the MetroFlex DZ allows you to pull (legal) "outdoor, metro wireless internet signals" into your home with a single device. This dual-zone device didn't change much in the design department from the media-centric 2825 MediaFlex router, but its patent-pending smart antenna technology "dynamically selects the best sending and receiving antennas for incoming and outgoing WiFi signals," allowing subscribers of outdoor broadband to provide WiFi in the home. You'll also find the usual bevy of security measures here, such as IP management, discrete SSIDs, WEP, and WPA2, but those hoping to snag a bit of draft-N action here will be sorely disappointed. No word on pricing or availability just yet, but hopefully it'll help out you lucky souls with citywide WiFi floating around.[Via TheWirelessReport]
Morph a McDonald's iZ toy into an IR repeater
Apparently this is the season to give IR-less, inanimate objects a bit of infrared love, as we've now got yet another IR installation duty for you handle once you've mastered the chore of getting the connectivity in your PlayStation 3. For those mums and pops who frequent McDonald's all too frequently, you've probably got a satisfactory stash of iZ toys laying around like landmines in the kitchen floor. If you've already got a (partial) multiroom IR channeling setup going, there's always the need for more coverage, so that's where the relatively useless "orange iZ" comes in, along with an IR receiver, soldering gun, and a dash of DIY prowess. This engineering dad cracked open the critter, carefully inserted the repeater, and made sure to clean up the mess by routing the cables through a rear opening, producing an impressively clean result. So if you're looking to make something worthwhile out of those otherwise ineffectual Happy Meal toys, be sure to hit the read link for all your instructions, and click on through for the repeatin' in action.[Via MAKE]
