With the increase in the number of Fibre Broadband adopters in Singapore, subscribers could have realised that the performance of the free provided wireless routers could not reach the required performance of the user. For an instance, wireless signals are usually low and intermittent connections to the internet. Most of the times, the fault is not caused by the Internet Service Provider, but the low quality networking devices they provide. Luckily, at IT SHOW 2013, there is a full range of networking products that will definitely suit your needs and budget. We bring you the different networking products found at IT SHOW 2013 and recommend you the best products that you should buy.
ASUS
ASUS is probably the first manufacturer to come out with a full range of Wireless AC products for IT SHOW 2013. In case you are not sure what Wireless AC is, check out our Article on “
Home Networking Revisited : Wireless AC Adoption with ASUS Wireless AC Products” . Put it simply, Wireless AC is a newer revision to the current Wireless N standard and the new standard will reach gigabit speeds and also further signal strengths and range. It’s the perfect wireless network for people who are using Fibre internet.
Other than Wireless AC products, ASUS also have a full lineup of Wireless N routers and receivers, as well as mobile pocket routers.
For Wireless AC, ASUS RT-66U suits all purposes. It is also feature packed, but it doesn’t come cheap. RT-66U costs $299 and it probably wouldn’t be the right choice for those who are looking for a budget alternative. However, future technology is already available now at ASUS with RT-66U and is available for purchase if one wishes to make sure that their home network is futureproofed.
If signal strength is the problem in your home network, RT-N12HP is a high power Router and Range Extender that promises strong wireless signals to great distances. This Wireless N router fits well into under a $100 budget and looks great with its signature ASUS Black Diamond design.
As for receivers, ASUS has a dedicated PCI-Express Wireless Card for the Wireless AC Router. The PCE-AC66 is probably the first PCI-E based Wireless AC receiver found in Singapore. It costs $139. Besides high end Wireless AC devices, ASUS also has a budget alternatives for those who just wants Wireless Network on their system. USB-N10 is a no-frills product and costs only $25. It will probably fit most of the budgets set aside for home networking.
A Wireless AC USB dongle is also available from ASUS networking. USB-AC53 works out of the box and can be connected to the Wireless AC Router at 5GHz frequency seamlessly. It is priced at $109. Wireless N Dual-band USB-N53 surprisingly costs a tat more expensive at $119, so I will recommend the USB-AC53 instead as it is backwards compatible. Lastly uniquely designed EA-N66 Dual-Band Router costs $139 and can reach speeds of up to 450Mbps.
AZTECH
AZTECH’s focus at IT SHOW 2013 was probably more on their HomePlug products. Quite a number of homeplugs for different uses were available at their booth.
As seen from their product shelves, multiple Homeplugs are available for sales. However, Wireless-N receivers are also on sale and ranges from $16 to $32.
Homeplug AV 200Mbps is usually priced at $79 but it will be getting a $10 discount at IT SHOW 2013, resulting in a final price of $69. As its name suggests, this homeplug can reach speeds of up to 200Mbps, probably enough for most Fibre Internet Speeds. The main selling point? It has 2 Ethernet LAN ports to connect to 2 computers.
The 300Mbps Wall-Plugged Wi-Fi Repeater WL559E is an interesting product. At areas where Wireless signal is low, simply plug WL559E on the wall socket and get instant Wireless N signals repeated and boosted, ensuring a more stable and reliable wireless network. WL559E costs $79.
HomePlug AV 500Mbps is probably the highest end Homeplug from Aztech. It can reach speeds of up to 500Mbps and has a Built-in power outlet with noise filter. It is priced lower than the HomePlug AV 200Mbps as it only has 1 Gigabit LAN port, but performance will be better on this one instead.
The only router found at Aztech’s booth was the HW550-3G. It is a 3G mobile router that supports more than 92 models of 3G/3.5G USB modem. It also functions as a full fledge router and has 4 Ethernet Ports and transmit data wirelessly at theoretical speeds of 300Mbps. IT Show Price : $49
BUFFALO
Buffalo is another player in Home networking devices. This time, they have ready stocks for all their wireless routers which ranges from $33 to $109 for different specifications and purposes.
The WZR-HP-G450H is a 450Mbps High-Power Wireless Broadband Router. It is shown on the left in the image above. Interestingly, it also has USB ports built in to act as a USB Print Server and NAS functions. The 3 antennas are to provide the additional wireless signal coverage for the router. On the right, the WZ-R-HP-G300NH2 is a 300Mbps Wireless N Multi-Functional Wireless Router. It actually supports BitTorrent Client on the software embedded as well as NAS function, and could be a great choice as a remote BitTorrent download system. The 2 routers costs $99 and $79 respectively.
CISCO Linksys
What I really liked about CISCO’s networking product booths is that their products are nicely organized into different price ranges for different users. The higher end network components are placed at the top, and the lower shelved products decreases in functionality and also price.
As expected of a router found at the top of the shelves, the Linksys EA6500 is a Wireless AC enabled router. Wireless AC routers are hard to find in the current market and this top of the link Smart Wi-Fi Router works in dual band, also similar to ASUS’s offerings. It has a very unique design and great specifications. We are talking about Gigabit Ethernet ports and additional USB ports for added functionality. Price : $349
At the middle shelves, Linksys E2500 is probably the mainstream router. It is dual-band, meaning that it functions in both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Wireless signals are usually better at a higher frequency and as there are lesser radio signals running at this frequency, there will also be lesser interference, resulting in better performance. Price :$99
At the most bottom of the shelves may not be the worst product from Cisco. Cisco manufactures great networking products and we all know it. The Linksys E1200 is a standard mainstream Wireless -N router which functions as what it is supposed to do. There are not as many additional functionalities found on this router so as to bring costs down. If you are looking for a good Wireless Router and need no special features like USB Ports or special firmware features, this could fit the description. Price :$69
D-LINK
Seems like “Cloud” is the keyword for D-LINK products this time. D-LINK has got various Cloud Router available at IT SHOW 2013. In fact, there is nothing special about these Cloud Router, other than the ability to administrate the router device from an Android or iOS Application.
In the budget Cloud Router Series, a simple Wireless N150 router (DIR-600L) costs $29.
By doubling the speeds from 150Mbps, DIR-605L is $10 more and costs $39.
If Gigabit connectivity is needed, DIR-636L costs $69.
D-LINK also has their Wireless AC router in the form of a Cloud Router. The DIR-865L is probably the cheapest Wireless AC router we have seen so far.
Additionally, other usual D-LINK products are still available. DIR-655 Xtreme N Gigabit Router has dropped prices significantly from $169 to $99.
D-LINK Mobile Companion is a device which plugs directly into the power socket and instantly creates a Wi-Fi Hotspot. It can also be used as a Router/ Access Point or a Repeater.
ENGENIUS
EnGenius is well known for their networking products’ performance. At IT SHOW 2013, they have some consumer level products for sale.
EnGenius Dual band router runs at both 2.4GHz and 5GHz concurrently. It claims to broadcast wireless signals further than usual wireless routers and have a better signal strength. Price :$149
EUB9603 is also a Wireless N receiver that has a high gain antenna, claiming to receive wireless signals better. Price: $39
Fear not as we’ve found the best deal for a Wireless N receiver for IT SHOW 2013. EnGenius EUB9707 only costs 10cents lesser than $10. JUST BUY IT.
ETR9360 is a unique battery operated router that ensures wireless connectivity on the go. It’s similar to a MIFI device, but instead, it works like a router with the necessary ports and also has a USB port for a 3G dongle. Price :$35
PROLINK
Prolink has been around in Singapore for more than 2 decades. If you remembered, your ADSL broadband modem from SingNet was actually from Prolink. They have been veterans in the business, and are back at IT SHOW 2013 to show off their latest and greatest networking products.
WNR1004 is a green router that is great for travellers because of its small size. It is a 1 port 300Mbps Wireless N Router and sold only at $38.
WNR1008 on the other hand, is a full fledged Wireless N router. It has 4 Gigabit ports and transmit wireless signals at 300Mbps. It costs $89 at the show, down $20 from usual price.
The PRN2001 could possibly be another budget router. At only $23, it can convert your wired broadband connection to a 150Mbps Wireless N signal.
PPL1202N PAIR is a Wireless N Powerline adaptor. It plugs straight into the power socket to delivery 200Mbps network speeds through power lines. $88
If you’re looking for HSPA 3G Mobile dongles, Prolink has got some of them to offer. Priced differently at $59 and $99, they both transmit speeds at 7.2Mbps and 21.6Mbps respectively.
Here’s a 8 port gigabit switch from Prolink which costs $46 at the show, down $3 from actual $49.
TP-LINK
TP-LINK is a budget oriented brand for mainstream consumers. They are popular with local consumers as they provide great prices for a high end configuration network device.
TP-LINK Nano Router pugs directly into the wall socket to transmit 150Mbps Wireless N signals. It has a single Ethernet Port to plug the RJ45 UTP Cable from the Modem to itself. It is now on sales at $35.
TP-LINK also has got full 300Mbps Wireless N dongles at sale at only $22.
They have a full range of switches available in different specifications that are bound to meet your needs and requirements.
Wireless LAN routers are also on sale at $65 an $85 with the only difference in Gigabit LAN ports.
WESTERN DIGITAL
In case you didn’t know. Western Digital has ventured into the Wireless Router market. The popular hard drive manufacturer could have seen limited profits from the hard drive markets and decided to jump into the networking market. They currently have 2 products on sale, namely the N600 and N900. These routers are targeted at entertainment needs and prioritize media packets. Besides that N900 includes a built in 1TB hard drive, essentially making the setup a NAS. N600 runs at 300Mbps speeds while N900 at 450Mbps. Prices are at $79 and $279 respectively. It seems that you really do pay more for a WD hard drive and better networking specifications on the N900
