When Cisco contacted me to talk about the new line of Linksys routers being released this week I was ready to give them a piece of my mind.
Once upon a time, Wi-Fi glitches were my own private hell. In my home we used to have one desktop computer that was hardwired to the router and no one but me used wireless. If the Wi-Fi stopped working and I needed to reboot the router only my home office laptop was inconvenienced.
Now it’s a family affair.
Giving streaming a bad name
Today we have three wireless laptops and a wireless printer, as well as an iPad, a Roku box and a Samsung Blu-ray player, all of which use wireless for video streaming. Now every other night I hear this:
“Daaaad! Netflix streaming isn’t working again. Can you come fix it?”
or
“Why isn’t YouTube working on the iPad?”
For some reason the iPad suffers from jerky images that freeze or suddenly deteriorate into a pile of jumbled pixels. This happens when used from the front of the house, furthest away from the router, but also when standing in the Kitchen next to the Roku box, which continues to stream just fine. Removing the iPad’s case helps, but does not eliminate the problem.
The big issue with the router is dropped connections, which often require rebooting the router – an annoying trip to have to make in the middle of a movie. And of course the router has no on/off switch, so I must reach behind to unplug it and hope the wire doesn’t drop down behind the desk.
Why don’t these damned routers just work? And they’re ridiculously complicated for consumers to set up. I’ve thrown away four routers in the last three years – Linksys, D-Link, Belkin – for a variety of reasons. I am on my fifth unit – a Linksys Wireless G – which is the one that keeps loosing the connection. That device may not be long for this world. If I hear my daughter yelling down the stairs one more time I think I may stomp the thing into bits.
Karin Combs, brand manager for Linksys, had barely started on her pitch before, like a spoiled little iPad user, I launched into my diatribe. She listened patiently – and then agreed with me. “This is typical of the frustration we see across the board.” People return routers because they don’t work right, because they can’t figure out how to set them up properly, or because the connection rates fall off. It has been, she admits, a totally crappy user experience.
Over the past year Cisco has consolidated its wireless router line from 18 models to three. The relaunch repositions its routers into five models in thee categories. She says that the software is easier to set up and that default pass phrases like “admin” and “password” have given way to randomly generated ones that the user must deliberately change if they want something weaker.
Here’s the breakdown on the new models, what they’re good for and what you’ll need if, like me, you’ve got home entertainment routed through Wi-Fi.
The Basics
The E1200 is a basic Wireless-N router for “everyday wireless.” Priced at $59.99 it’s your basic way to connect a laptop and perhaps one or two other devices to the Internet.
The E1500 adds a speed boost feature and implements a feature in the 802.11n specification called “spatial streaming” to extend the coverage area and limit dead spots in the house. Again, the product is best suited for supporting a couple of devices. For this you pay $79.99.
Home Office
The E2500 is designed for a busy home office. The technical gobbledygook: It adds simultaneous dual-band N operation for greater throughput, and has dual antennas to boost range. But what you need to know is that this model can support concurrent use by a wireless laptop or two plus a wireless printer and perhaps a smart phone and an iPad. If you’re using all of those devices and you’re also streaming video however, Combs says this device may not be for you.
For the Streaming Home
The E3200 takes you into what Cisco calls its “entertainment class” routers. First the technical blather: It includes simultaneous dual-band operation, quality of service settings optimized for streaming video, and four gigabit Ethernet ports on the back for direct connection of multimedia devices, such as our Roku box. (A great feature if your wireless router, which must be tethered to your cable modem, can reach your entertainment center by wire. Mine cannot.). This product will set you back $159.99 – a breathtaking amount when you consider that most people are accustomed to picking up a router for between $30 and $60.
The E4200 This router, previously released in January, is the Crème de la Crème of the line, for concurrent video streaming and gaming. In tech speak, it has all of the features above plus two different signal amplifiers (“on chip and off chip”) and a UPnP AV media server for optimized streaming of locally stored movies and video. This is the one to reach for if you are supporting video streaming to two TVs plus an iPad, Combs says. But the $179.99 price tag is enough to make my credit card hand curl up like a boiled shrimp.
Cisco’s marketing strategy is clear: Heavy duty use in the wireless, digitally entertained home requires a premium-class, industrial-strength router. But this model costs three times as much as the basic device I now have.
Is it worth the price? If it solves my problems, absolutely. Whenever I see this type of market segmentation my value antenna goes up. But I’m so fed up with the cheap routers I’ve used to date that I’m ready to pay more for something if the damned thing will just work. Too many devices now depend on it.
I don’t really need a media server so perhaps the E3200 will solve all of my problems. Overpriced hardware or worth every penny? There’s only one way to find out.
Source:http://blogs.computerworld.com/18086/wireless_routers_the_achilles_heel_of_the_digital_home?source=rss_blogs
