any wireless N (non draft) routers worth getting yet?

[BlahBlahYouToo]

it's been a few months now hasn't it?

 

[JackMDS]

Take a look around the Net, and see how many real 802.11n you can find.

My guess is that the few that might be pose to release, have a computerized inventory system that will not release the new staff until they deplete the old drfat Junk

The price would probably be twice the current price of a good 802.11g

Thus it would boil down (taking out Fashion) to consider if the needs of a specific person worth the price.

I have four independent Wireless Networks of which only one would really benefit from the additional performance of 8092.11n.

 

[spidey07]

Take a look around the Net, and see how many real 802.11n you can find.

My guess is that the few that might be pose to release, have a computerized inventory system that will not release the new staff until they deplete the old drfat Junk

The price would probably be twice the current price of a good 802.11g

Thus it would boil down (taking out Fashion) to consider if the needs of a specific person worth the price.

I have four independent Wireless Networks of which only one would really benefit from the additional performance of 8092.11n.

But..but...but the shiny box says it's 8 times farther range than 802.11g and 50 times faster!

 

[Chapbass]

While I haven't tested the wireless N portion, I very much like my F5D8235-4 Belkin N+ Router.

I don't do very much wireless N information, but I bought it as I had some bby money to burn and wanted gigabit ethernet. Not too shabby of a router.

ps: the F5D8236-4 is actually worse than the F5D8235-4. No GbE and not N+ (for whatever its worth )

 

[spidey07]

Chapbass,

That is not a 802.11n standard device. It's draft. The standard got passed a few months ago so we're waiting on 802.11n products.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Take a look around the Net, and see how many real 802.11n you can find.

My guess is that the few that might be pose to release, have a computerized inventory system that will not release the new staff until they deplete the old drfat Junk

The price would probably be twice the current price of a good 802.11g

Thus it would boil down (taking out Fashion) to consider if the needs of a specific person worth the price.

I have four independent Wireless Networks of which only one would really benefit from the additional performance of 8092.11n.

short answer, no.
amirite?

 

[JackMDS]

short answer, no.
amirite?

Unfortunately it is No. D:

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

4 months later, still nothing eh?

 

[JackMDS]

4 months later, still nothing eh?

Amazing Ha.

May be Ford should take out of storage all the Pintos.

The What is the "Best"? people, probably will buy them. :\

.

 

[kevinqian]

Apple airport extreme is the only "certified" 802.11n router out now.

But what difference does it make certified or draft? none.

For me, HD streaming was the real draw. I have an HDHomerun and being able to stream 2 HDTV streams simultaneously was awesome. Although it's not as reliable as wired, it's easier than wiring my whole house.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Apple airport extreme is the only "certified" 802.11n router out now.

But what difference does it make certified or draft? none.

Support and potential compatibility

 

[JackMDS]

Welcome to AnandTech Forums.

But what difference does it make certified or draft? none.

You are right for many things it would Not make a difference.

And on this accord for most user it would not be any difference from 802.11g either.

802.11n might have some value in certain circumstances, and in those incompatibly of hardware will probably render it problematic.

The lack of certified 802.11n hardware is a prove that there are incompatibility problems, otherwise the "shenanigan" was suppose to go away already.

.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Welcome to AnandTech Forums.



You are right for many things it would Not make a difference.

And on this accord for most user it would not be any difference from 802.11g either.

802.11n might have some value in certain circumstances, and in those incompatibly of hardware will probably render it problematic.

The lack of certified 802.11n hardware is a prove that there are incompatibility problems, otherwise the "shenanigan" was suppose to go away already.

.

From what ive seen most hardware is supposed to be able to do N since the hardware specs didnt change much from later drafts to final. From what ive heard most should be able to firmware upgrade to N certified

 

[JackMDS]

From what ive seen most hardware is supposed to be able to do N since the hardware specs didnt change much from later drafts to final. From what ive heard most should be able to firmware upgrade to N certified

I am talking about Bridges, Repeaters, WDS, Streamers, etc.

A regular Wireless N card, when used with a regular infrastructure source if incompatible can revert to 802.11g and user probably would not even notice.

.

 

[taltamir]

how can apple have the only n final product? apple doesn't make anything themselves, they just rebrand. this means someone has to have made it, but who?

 

[kevinqian]

Apple is not as superficial as you think, or as they make themselves out to be...

Apple, like Linksys, Netgear, etc, is an OEM of networking products. They design the package and the software, but leave the hardware chips to Broadcom, Atheros, or Marvell, etc. So in that fashion, Apple's wireless products are no different from Linksys ones because they all source from the same chipset manufacturers. Just like all PC manufacturers build systems based on the same basic foundation of Intel processor and standard components.

Apple may have gotten in front of the queue for certification to boost their marketing of "certified" products. But other manufacturers don't seem to care as much since their "draft" products work the same as "certified" products.

 

[Emulex]

why would anyone certify an old product? that costs a carpton of money. for a $89 router that now is on sale for $49?? no way - only new products will get certified.

wifi is mostly a joke - its great for casual browsing but if you really need uptime like wired/powerline/moca you are kidding yourself. heck it is worse than 4G/3G imo.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

why would anyone certify an old product? that costs a carpton of money. for a $89 router that now is on sale for $49?? no way - only new products will get certified.

wifi is mostly a joke - its great for casual browsing but if you really need uptime like wired/powerline/moca you are kidding yourself. heck it is worse than 4G/3G imo.

Tell that to healthcare. We use it massively it its very reliable if deployed properly. I would still prefer wired, but it works very well.

 

[JackMDS]

since their "draft" products work the same as "certified" products.

To make such a statement you need 10 products out there cross checking them between, and withing Brands and chipset, showing thta they are compatible across the board.

Since you do not have such products in the standard line how can you make such statement.

Wishful thinking is a known psychological phenomenon, but it hardly considered a technological fact. :\


.

 

[kevinqian]

You can say the same thing about wireless networking in general. Even two "certified" products could probably generate enough outliers and issues to be deemed statistically significant. It's hard to attribute errors to any one factor or set of factors. So manufacturers are probably better off spending R&D on bettering products than worrying about certification. Apple is a more marketing driven company, so getting that "certification" is probably higher up on their list.

But don't get me wrong, I'm all for certification if it means one less beloved patriot in the armour, but i just doubt it's usefulness like you doubt wireless N in general. lol

 

[spidey07]

You can say the same thing about wireless networking in general. Even two "certified" products could probably generate enough outliers and issues to be deemed statistically significant. It's hard to attribute errors to any one factor or set of factors. So manufacturers are probably better off spending R&D on bettering products than worrying about certification. Apple is a more marketing driven company, so getting that "certification" is probably higher up on their list.

But don't get me wrong, I'm all for certification if it means one less beloved patriot in the armour, but i just doubt it's usefulness like you doubt wireless N in general. lol

It sounds like you haven't had to deal with network gear that wasn't meet a standard or doing things for which no standard exists.

It's a complete nightmare, nothing works together. The entire reason all of these different network technologies and the very Internet itself works is because of standards and the IEEE/IETF.

 

[kevinqian]

Well, so far with all of my 802.11n draft 2.0 gears, all seem to be running just fine with each other. My point was draft 2.0 and certified devices shouldn't stray too far from each other to cause headaches. They said that starting with draft 2.0, all future devices can be updated to final spec with a software push. So i take that to imply that draft 2.0 devices are mostly equivalent to final specs with minor spit and polish work to be done.

 

[kevnich2]

wifi is mostly a joke - its great for casual browsing but if you really need uptime like wired/powerline/moca you are kidding yourself. heck it is worse than 4G/3G imo.

That was true several years ago but not so much anymore. Wifi used to be a joke as far as reliability. Granted, I still prefer wired for reliability but that's just because of past experiences but wifi has definitely come a LONG way in recent years. If the wifi network is properly designed and built, you shouldn't have reliability issues.

The only time i have issues are due to either interference or lack of signal. Both of which can USUALLY be worked around.

 

[Lean L]

why would anyone certify an old product? that costs a carpton of money. for a $89 router that now is on sale for $49?? no way - only new products will get certified.

wifi is mostly a joke - its great for casual browsing but if you really need uptime like wired/powerline/moca you are kidding yourself. heck it is worse than 4G/3G imo.

My wifi bridges have been up for up to 70 days before I reset it manually.

 

[Emulex]

so your clients will roam without packet loss when moving from one zone to another?