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Wi-Fi consumers cautioned to wait on new gear
By Larry Hendrick | April 26, 2006
Pre-n products have been selling for some time now, and as is the normal case, this can cause trouble once the standard is finalized. That will happen later this year, but is hasn’t stopped manufacturers from selling products built from drafts of the standard. Interoperability is the biggest complaint with the current equipment sold to people that don’t understand that the product is not based on the standard.
This happened with 802.11g as well, and some of the pre-standard merchandise was not compliant once the standard was established and the equipment didn’t always play nice together. Several companies are releasing pre-n products now, but you need to be smart about buying this equipment. If you feel compelled to purchase pre-n products, make sure the manufacturer guarantees free upgrades to the ratified standard later this year. If they won’t, wait to buy.
Wi-Fi consumers cautioned to wait on new gear | CNET News.com
Two different groups testing new wireless products based on a draft standard of the next generation Wi-Fi technology caution consumers to hold off on buying pre-standard gear.On Monday, the Fairpoint Group and the technology trade publication eWeek released results of tests conducted on new products using draft versions of the 802.11n standard. While eWeek’s assessment is not nearly as negative as the analysis of the testing from the Fairpoint Group, both groups said they felt it was still too soon for consumers to buy products using 802.11n.
“I’ve always been a harsh critic of selling equipment that is compliant with a draft,” said Craig Mathias, an analyst with Fairpoint Group…
…Problems with the technology
But now that products are out in the market, groups testing draft 802.11n are finding that the technology has some problems. The Fairpoint Group compared the performance and interoperability of Buffalo Technology’s AirStation Nfiniti router and client, which use Broadcom’s draft 802.11n Intensi-fi chipset, and both versions of Netgear’s RangeMax Next client and routers, which use draft 802.1n chips from Broadcom and Marvel, with Linksys’ Wireless G and SRX400 equipment.
Topics: Technology |