Hasta La Gadget!

On Monday, Netgear added support for Beamforming+ to its R6300 802.11ac Dual Band Gigabit router, as well as its A6200 USB adapter, offering users better wireless Internet performance and reliability. For those who already have one (or both) of the devices, a firmware update has also been rolled out that adds Beamforming+ support to the devices. With the added support, users will see their 802.11ac gain additional speed, among other things.

Beamforming+ is a signal optimizer that pinpoints a Wi-Fi device’s location and sends the wireless Internet signal its way, keeping tabs on where the device is at. In addition, the signal is amplified via adjustements, both of which combine to offer increased reliability and performance. As a result, users will see their download speeds increase, and will find some activities that have had issues don’t anymore, such as talking over VoIP or watching a high-definition video.

“802.11ac is the wireless standard you need to support the increasingly heavy demands on your network for voice, video and data … Our test data demonstrates that when we enable Beamforming+ on our R6300 WiFi Router, we see performance increase by 60 percent at a distance of around 50 feet when connecting to an 802.11ac device.”

Those who have the R6300 router or A6200 adapter can download the firmware upgrade now from Netgear’s Support site. Other 802.11ac users who want to take advantage of Beamforming+ are going to have to wait a bit longer, however. Netgear says it anticipates have a firmware upgrade for the rest of its 802.11ac routers available in “early summer,” though it doesn’t specify a date, and phrases it in such a way that the date may change.

[via Netgear]

Netgear boosts 802.11ac WiFi performance with Beamforming+ firmware upgrade is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

There are free firmware for routers that extend the functionality of certain models – DD-WRT, Tomato and Hyper-WRT come to mind – but if you want a user-friendly interface, the Skydog system might be better for you. Made by PowerCloud Systems, it lets you monitor and manage home networks using a convenient mobile app.

The Skydog router looks like a typical router. It has four Ethernet ports and offers dual band wireless N at up to 300mbps per band. But where it really shines is in its mobile app. The app is based on HTML5, so it will work with practically all mobile devices and desktop computers. It lets you see and label connected devices and restrict or put a time limit to their access, down to specific websites. This is great for parents who want to control their kids’ internet access without having to look over their shoulders all the time.

It also lets you save and switch templates so you can give more bandwidth to certain devices, like when someone wants to play online games or stream high definition videos. Best of all, you can manage a network wherever you are as long as you have an Internet connection. You can even manage multiple Skydog routers. That’s a godsend for people who are designated IT guys in their families.

Pledge at least $99 (USD) on Kickstarter to qualify for an early unit of the Skydog. Better start a fundraiser among your friends and family.

Linksys has outed its latest modem-router, the N750 Dual-Band X3500, bundling ADSL and gigabit ethernet connectivity along with wireless and app support. Offering dual-band 802.11n for up to 450Mbps wireless, along with four gigabit ethernet ports and a USB port that can be used to share external storage and printers with multiple networked devices.

There’s also DLNA streaming and support for guest networks, allowing you to open up select access to visitors. In fact, the functionality is the same as the N750 wireless router-only that Linksys announced last year, only with the addition of ADSL support.

There’s still a WAN port for external modems, in case you subsequently want to use the X3500 with a cable or fiber modem. Linksys also offers mobile apps for iOS and Android, Cisco Connect Express, for remotely tweaking settings, monitoring usage, and upgrading firmware.

Hook up a USB drive, meanwhile, and you can access its contents from any networked device, or indeed stream from it to your PS3, Xbox, or other gadget; a USB printer can also be shared. The Linksys N750 Dual-Band X3500 router is available in the UK now, priced at £139 ($213).

Linksys N750 Dual-Band X3500 gateway packs DSL and WiFi is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’re wanting to take advantage of Verizon‘s 4G LTE in your home, and are wanting a device that both wired and wireless devices can connect to, Verizon just released a new router that does the trick. Simply named the 4G LTE Router, this bad boy can take on ethernet connections and WiFi connections at the same time. It can support up to a whopping 20 WiFi connections, and has four ethernet ports on the back.

The router is made by Netgear, and it looks to be a rather small and thin router, with two antennae that tower above the device. Verizon says that the router is available for purchase right now, and it’ll cost you $99 after signing a two-year contract and sending in a $50 mail-in rebate. Or you can buy the router outright for $269.

If you’re already on one of Verizon’s Share Everything plans, you can easily add the router to your plan for only $20 per month. Of course, you might want to bump up the amount of geebees that you have, since connecting multiple device to the router is sure to take a hit on your data allotment, especially considering how fast Big Red’s LTE can be.

However, it’s rather odd to see Verizon promoting a router, but we suppose that the company’s mobile hotspot device may not have enough oompf for some users. Considering that the router can support up to 24 devices total at once, we have to say that it’s one device that you don’t see everyday, and it could be great for larger parties or work events where people need to stay connected.

Verizon 4G LTE Router available now for $99 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Back in December, we told you about the new Hub Burst wireless router from FreedomPop, which costs $89 up front, but it gives you 1GB of data per month for free, with $10/month getting you 10GB. The router is available now, and it’s meant to support a household of usage, but as long as you’re not streaming movies if you want to keep the free plan.

Sadly, though, FreedomPop only uses WiMAX and the service is limited to just a handful of regions in the US. While the company plans to switch to LTE at some point in the future, availability still may be scarce, but we wouldn’t be surprised if FreedomPop eventually spread the service to most users in the country.

While $10 per month for 10GB of data seems like a steal, some users may just not want to pony up any money at all, but the 1GB of data per month is a rather low amount, especially if you’re using it in a house full of kids. However, as always, FreedomPop offers the opportunity to earn more data by completing different tasks, like adding friends and completing partner promotions.

FreedomPop claims that their $10/month plan is 80% cheaper than your typical DSL or cable offering, but at this point, nothing can really beat the reliability of a solid home wired network can’t quite beat wireless service at this point. However, once LTE rolls around in more areas, FreedomPop may actually become a viable option, but we’ll have to wait and see.

FreedomPop Hub Burst now available for $89, offers 1GB/month for free is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.