CES 2009

The TEW-673GR true dual-band wireless-N router from Trendnet.

(Credit: Trendnet)

Better late than never, Trendnet unveiled at CES 2009 its first true dual-band wireless-N router, the 300Mbps Concurrent Dual-Band Wireless N Gigabit Router, or TEW-673GR. This is the upgrade to the company's TEW-672GR, which was released five months ago and is a non-true dual-band router.

The TEW-673GR is built with an Atheros chipset and Trendnet claims that it delivers unsurpassed wireless speed. Most importantly, the router offers concurrent dual-band wireless-N performance.

If you still don't know what this means, concurrent (or true) dual-band technology allows two wireless networks simultaneously, using both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz radio frequencies. This enables users to create an advanced hybrid network in which wireless clients can be assigned to either the 2.4GHz or the 5GHz band.

Most wireless networks use the 2.4GHz radio frequency, in which cordless phones, cellular phones, microwaves and Bluetooth devices also operate. The crowded nature of the 2.4GHz band can degrade your network's wireless performance and actually interfere with and slow your transmissions.

Dual-band networking offer users to connect to the wireless network via the supposedly "cleaner" 5GHz band, resulting in a better wireless experience.

The TEW-673GR is Wi-Fi certified, meaning it supports interoperability with other wireless products and backward compatibility with legacy wireless standards.

According to Trendnet, the TEW-673GR uses about thirty percent less power than the previous generation. A unique wireless on/off switch offers additional energy savings and security by turning off the wireless signal when it is not in use. The router also supports Wi-Fi Protected Setup that allows for easily adding wireless clients to the network without having to manually enter the encryption key.

The TEW-673GR will be available shortly with the estimated price of $175.

The 450Mbps TEW-773GR from Trendnet is fast.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CBS Interactive)

Before I begin, let me say this one more time: The 802.11n wireless specification (or Wireless-N, which is currently still in draft state and therefore is also known as Draft N) is a wireless networking standard that offers speeds up to 300Mbps. That is a lot faster than the previous and popular specification 802.11g (or Wireless-G) that caps out at 54Mbps. Wireless-N is backward compatible with Wireless-G devices, meaning they can be connected to Wireless-N networks at 802.11g speed.

Now that, though confusing, is all common knowledge. What's not commonly known is that wireless vendors are about to turn Wireless-N up a notch, making it offer speeds up to 450Mbps. At CES this year, I ran into two vendors who showed off their newest higher-speed Wireless-N routers. Those vendors are D-Link, with the D-Link Xtreme N 450, and Trendnet, with the 450Mbps Wireless N Gigabit Router TEW-773GR.

The D-Link N 450 is similar in functionality to D-Link's DIR-855 Xtreme router. The router features Gigabit Ethernet, SharePort technology, and simultaneous dual-band 2.4 and 5GHz performance.

What makes the N 450 distinctively different from the DIR-855 is that it can offer wireless speeds up to 450Mbps. The 50-percent increase of speed is made possible by the latest chip design and faster processor that allow the router to handle three streams of signal per antenna. Most existing Wireless-N routers can handle only two streams and budget ones can handle only one stream per antenna.

The D-Link N 450 will be available around the beginning of the second quarter of 2009. Pricing is not yet available.

Similar to the N 450, Trendnet's TEW-773GR router also supports three high-performance antennas and three spatial streams per antenna. However the TEW-773GR is a single band 2.4GHz-only Wireless-N router. The router is also currently in a prototype state and will be available to the public in the second quarter of 2009. It's estimated to cost less than $200.

Like all Wireless-N routers, these new routers will be backward compatible with all existing wireless clients of the same band (2.4Ghz or 5GHz). In order for the 450Mbps to archive, users will need new clients (add-in cards/adapters) that support this speed.

As the change in speed is not based on a proprietary technology, it's highly likely that the 450Mbps routers and adapters from different vendors will interoperate at this speed, especially when they are Wi-Fi Certified.

The N 450 wireless router from D-Link can run as fast as 450Mbps.

(Credit: D-Link)

The WZR-HP-G300NH NFinity High Power wireless router from Buffalo.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CBS Interactive)

After two long years, Buffalo, just less than a month ago, regained the right to sell wireless products in the U.S. And at CES 2009, the company is showcasing a wide range of networking products that have hardly been known in the U.S. market.

Buffalo's networking products share one thing in common: affordability. All networking products currently offered by the company cost less than $100. This doesn't mean they are of sub-par quality. In my experience, it's quite the opposite.

The company's flagship product is the $99.99 Wireless-N Nfiniti High Power Router WZR-HP-G300NH. The router supports wireless speeds of up to 300Mbps and seamlessly works with the Nintendo DS. Other features, which are generally common in Buffalo wireless router, include:

• Built-in high-power amplifier improves wireless performance and extends range
• Supports WDS to increase coverage with optional repeater
• External switch to change between wireless router and wireless access point
• Easy setup with AirStation one-touch secure system (AOSS)
• Automatic channel support selects best available wireless networking channel
• Supports WPA-PSK (TKIP, AES) and 128/64-bit WEP security
• Includes NAT and SPI firewall and intrusion detector
• Dynamic packet filtering
• Built-in DHCP server
• Built-in 10/100 four-port auto-sensing switch

The WHR-G300NH also has an entry-level variant, the WHR-G300N, that supports less features and costs only $79.99.

The second wireless router, the $59.99 WHR-HP-G54 from Buffalo, actually is not a new or high-end device. This router is a 802.11g-based wireless router with AOSS and a built-in signal amplifier. The WHR-HP-G54, therefore, produces a true 60 percent increase in wireless transmit power over a standard 802.11g wireless router.

I personally have had a very good experience with the WHR-HP-G54. Once flashed with the famous custom firmware from dd-wrt, the device has turned into arguably the most versatile and stable wireless router on the market.

The third networking product from Buffalo that's worth mentioning is the Nfiniti Dual Band Ethernet Converter, model WLI-TX4-AG300N. The unit is basically a wireless bridge that allows for connecting a wired netowrk client to a wireless network. Unlike other wireless bridges that have only one network port, the WLI-TX4-AG300N features four ports and therefore can support up to four clients out of the box.

The WLI-TX4-AG300N uses the Draft N specification and is Wi-Fi certified. This ensures interoperability with other certified devices. The WLI-TX4-AG300N is backward compatible to 802.11b/g and 802.11a and costs $89.99.

While Buffalo's showcase doesn't have any revolutionary products, the fact that the company is back in the U.S. networking market is good news for customers.

All of the products mentioned above will be available by the end of this month and are backed by Buffalo with a lifetime warranty and 24/7 tech support.

D-Link's Xtreme N DIR-685 wireless router.

(Credit: D-Link)

During 2008, I complained about all of D-Link's wireless routers, such as the DIR-825 or the DIR-855 because of their common, old-school, bulky designs. Thursday, however, I was more than impressed by the all-new Xtreme N Storage DIR-685 wireless router.

It's possibly the first router that really offers a lot more than just routing.

First off, the DIR-685 is the first router from D-Link I know of that features the internal antenna design, which is not new, as Linksys and Netgear have done this for a long time. Nevertheless, the DIR-685 is now much more compact and eye-catching than previous generations of D-Link routers.

What makes the DIR-685 unique, however, is the fact that it comes with a hard drive bay that can house a 2.5-inch SATA hard drive, a full-feature NAS system (with support for media servers and BitTorrent downloads), and features a 3.2-inch LCD monitor. The monitor, apart from being able to display the device's status via graphical gauges, can also work as a photo frame, play streamed video, and show weather forecasts and other live streaming Internet content in up to 1.6 million colors.

The DIR-685 uses D-Link Green technology which, according to D-Link, helps conserve energy. It does this by automatically recognizing port activity and cable length and adjusting power usage by consolidating all functions to a single device instead of many separate products, and by using the idle mode that automatically turns off power to the LCD screen.

According to D-Link, the router's wide local-area network scheduler can turn off the router's Wi-Fi module at a preset time, and the power adapter complies with Energy Star specifications. With these features, the router can offer power savings of up to 30 percent over other routers of the same type, according to D-Link.

On its back, the DIR-685 has four gigabit Ethernet ports and one gigabit WAN port. It also sports two USB ports featuring D-Link's SharePort technology that lets them work as networked USB ports, enabling the router to support any USB devices. The SharePort technology can also be found in D-Link's previous router models, such as the DIR-825.

The DIR-685 will be available by the end of the first quarter and is estimated to cost less than $300. I am looking forward to testing one out.

The DIR-685's back with its ports and open hard drive bay.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CBS Interactive)

The 300Mbps Wireless N Travel Router from Trendnet.

(Credit: Trendnet)

Wireless routers that fit in your pocket have been around for a long time (I especially like the Windy31, though it's a little peculiar). However, while convenient and cool, they share the same shortcoming: the lack of support for high-speed Draft N wireless.

Trendnet on Thursday ended that trait by introducing a 300Mbps Wireless N Travel Router, model TEW-654TR.

Measuring merely 2.5 inches by 3.25 inches by 0.75 inches, the TEW-654TR is arguably the world's smallest router that supports the Draft N specification, offering wireless speed up to 300Mbps (as opposed to 54Mbps of existing mini wireless routers).

The 300Mbps Wireless N Travel Router comes with a convenient carrying case, a thin 3-foot long Ethernet cable, an electrical adapter, and an alternate USB cable to power the router from a computer. This is nice feature since it spares you from having to carry the power adapter.

The TEW-654TR features an internal antenna design and one 10/100Mbps WAN port to support any broadband modem as well as other CAT5-based network inputs. The router supports the latest wireless encryption and advanced multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology. This promises to deliver high-speed wireless connectivity and long range in signal coverage.

For the first time, you can travel light without having to compromise the network performance. The new mini router TEW-654TR is slated to be available by early March and will cost about $90.