It may look like Apple’s new Mac Pro 2013, but the D-Link Gaming Router DGL-5500 is actually hoping to hook up with the potent workstation, not to mention anything else supporting WiFi 802.11ac. Revealed at CES back in January, and now priced and dated for store shelves, the DGL-5500 is expected to go on sale
iFixit has a tradition of tearing apart Apple gadgets (and many others) as soon as they’re on sale, and it’s maintaining that custom with a fresh peek at the 2013 edition of the 13-inch MacBook Air. This isn’t a repeat of last year’s by-the-book affair, however — there’s a few minor surprises in store. We now know that Apple is bolstering the efficiency of Intel’s Haswell chips with a larger 7,150mAh battery pack, and that Broadcom makes the 802.11ac WiFi chip. The solid-state drive inside also represents a major rethink: while we’ve heard that Apple has switched the drive’s interface from pokey SATA to PCI Express, we can see that the SSD itself has shrunk dramatically since 2012. iFixit is still down on the Air’s repairability and scores it four out of ten, but those who’ve wanted to answer a few of Apple’s more recent riddles will still want to check out the full examination at the source.
Filed under: Laptops, Apple, Samsung
Via: iFixit (Twitter), 9to5 Mac
Source: iFixit
Apple has revealed a brace of new networking equipment, with a completely redesigned AirPort Extreme and a matching Time Capsule. The new wireless connectivity kit has been entirely reworked from the short, squat, white boxes of today, now taking the form of tall, extruded aluminum columns. Those blocks measure in at 4.5 x 4.5 inches
Some of ASUS’ big Computex 2013 launches today involved the latest 802.11ac WiFi flavor, and since you’ll need to feed them with a router packing the same tech, ASUS has also announced one of those: the RT-AC68U. The company claims it’s the first dual-band 802.11ac router with AC1900 data rates up to 1900 Mbit/s, thanks to AiRadar beamforming, which helps bring a stronger connection and 150 percent better range, too (if accurate). You’ll also be able to share files between ASUS routers with USB-attached drives thanks to a router-to-router sync mode, negating the need for a switched-on PC or other device. There’s no word on pricing or availability, but the previous RT-AC66U flagship ran about $200 or so — so we’d be surprised if it came in under that figure.
Filed under: Peripherals, Wireless, ASUS
Broadcom has focused most of its 802.11ac WiFi efforts this year on high- and low-end mobile chips. Today, it’s swinging that attention back to bigger machinery like PCs and set-top boxes. The company’s new BCM4350, BCM43556 and BCM43558 all carry more robust, 2 X 2 MIMO antennas that help them hit 866Mbps speeds and optimize traffic through beamforming. Any differences, Broadcom notes, revolve around everything but the WiFi. The BCM4350 carries a more PC-like set of interfaces that includes Bluetooth 4.0, PCI Express and SDIO 3.0; the BCM43558 drops the PCIe and SDIO in favor of USB 3.0, while the BCM43556 also sheds Bluetooth. Although we don’t know which companies plan to use the nimbler wireless technology, it should ship to gadget makers in the second half of this year.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Laptops, Tablets, Networking, HD, Mobile
Source: Broadcom
Patient when it comes to shuttling files around your network? No, us neither, and so ASUS‘ new RT-AC68U router is looking mighty appealing. The new 802.11ac wireless hub may have an unmemorable name, but it’s probably worth a second glance as the first dual-band WiFi-ac router around, with the promise of data rates of up to 1,900 Mbit/s.
Of course, if you want to see those sort of speeds, you’ll have to be running 802.11ac on all your devices, which is unlikely to be the case right now. Still, it fits in well with ASUS’ other Computex launches, such as the VivoPC media center which also has WiFi-ac baked in.
The RT-AC68U also has ASUS’ AiRadar system, using beamforming to target its wireless signal and, so the claim goes, provide 150-percent greater coverage than rivals. It’s also possible to set up two routers in “sync” mode, with files stored on USB drives connected directly to the router shared with a counterpart router, no PC involvement required.
The USB ports can also be used to plug in a 3G/4G modem, just in case your main broadband connection goes out and you have to use some impromptu mobile data instead. They’ll work to share a printer across the network, too.
ASUS hasn’t said when the RT-AC68U will go on sale, nor how much it will cost. Nonetheless, with the previous-gen AC66U – announced back in 2012 – still commanding a roughly $190 street price, the RT-AC68U is unlikely to be cheap.
ASUS RT-AC68U 802.ac router promises up to 1,900Mbit/s (but it won’t be cheap) is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
As we’ve mentioned before, 5G WiFi, aka 802.11ac is a good thing, unless you hate speed and range. After launching its integrated BCM4335 chip on flagship handsets like Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 and the HTC One, Broadcom has announced new 5G WiFi combo chips for lower-end smartphones, PCs, notebooks and tablets. Budget handheld devices can now be equipped with the BCM4339, which Broadcom says brings the same performance as its top-end mobile chip while integrating power and low-noise amplifiers for easier integration. Meanwhile, the BCM43162 is targeted at desktop and notebook PCs with direct support for the Microsoft’s Windows OS. Customers are now sampling both chips, and Broadcom expects volume production in the second half of the year — another possible reason to put off that notebook purchase a bit longer.
Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Laptops, Tablets
Although Netgear was one of the quickest out of the gates with 802.11ac WiFi hardware, that doesn’t mean its hardware is the quickest today: without beamforming to optimize the signal, it risks trailing behind newcomers who’ve had more time to prepare. Starting with the R6300 router and A6200 USB adapter, the company will soon catch up through a firmware update that rolls in support for the beamforming standard. The upgrade targets wireless signals at devices’ specific locations, offering a big speed boost at shorter distances — Netgear estimates up to a 60 percent improvement at a 50-foot range. R6300 and A6200 owners can swing past the source links today for their tune-up, while those using Netgear’s other 802.11ac devices should expect brisker speeds around the early summer.
Filed under: Peripherals, Networking
Source: Netgear (1), (2), (3)
It’s inevitable that Apple is going to release new Mac models at some point this year, particularly new MacBooks, since the iMacs just received a recent refresh. On the software end, Apple recently seeded the second beta version of OS X 10.8.4 Mountain Lion to developers, and the code inside of the operating system hint at the possibility of 802.11ac WiFi for new Mac models sometime this year.
According to 9to5Mac, a developer testing out the beta operating system spotted the code in OS X 10.8.4, specifically in the WiFi-frameworks folder deep within the file system. The code clearly reads “802.11ac” and it’s a line of code that is not found in OS X 10.8.3, which is the latest version of OS X that’s currently available to the public.
If you’re not too familiar with 802.11ac wireless, it’s essentially the successor to 802.11n, which is the latest and fastest network protocol to be certified. We’ve seen a few routers with 802.11ac on board, but it has yet to be certified, so we probably won’t be seeing a crop of 802.11ac products pop up just yet.
However, we’ll definitely see 802.11ac sprout up more and more in the near future, but we certainly wouldn’t be surprised if Apple waited a bit to implement it into their Macs. Sure, it may be in the code itself, but it’s possible that Apple won’t enable it in the next batch of MacBooks right away. However, we’ve heard in the past that Apple is partnering up with Broadcom to bring the new protocol to Macs this year.
[via 9to5Mac]
OS X 10.8.4 beta code hints at 802.11ac WiFi in upcoming Macs is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Code in the latest 10.8.4 beta version of Mountain Lion discovered by a 9to5 Mac tipster shows OS X support for 802.11ac WiFi, meaning next-gen Macs might contain the tech. Also dubbed 5G, 802.11ac brings speeds as high as 1.3Gbps thanks to beamforming, while also offering more range and robustness compared to its 802.11n predecessor. To date we’ve seen oodles of routers packing the still-uncertified wireless format, but only a single notebook with the tech has passed through our doors — the Asus G75VW gaming notebook. That might change with a reference to the standard in the “WiFi-frameworks” folder in Mountain Lion’s latest beta, 10.8.4, which was recently sent to developers. Of course, until we see a real Cupertino product packing such a radio, it’s just that — code.
[Image credit: 9to5 Mac]
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Apple
Source: 9to5 Mac
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