If you're trying to decide whether a more expensive "firewall" will keep you safer than an off-the-shelf router, this article can help.

Digitimes reports that the three leading consumer networking device vendors are holding the line on product prices this holiday season.

D-Link, Linksys and Netgear have mostly kept the price of consumer networking devices—especially 802.11n products—unchanged, instead of resorting to more aggressive pricing to boost sales during the year-end peak season, according to industry sources.

The article said that the companies are still looking for indications of how strong demand will be for holiday buying and said that consumers "may start seeing discount offers from the vendors in early 2008 if sales do not pick up as expected in the following weeks".

Read the full article here.