Linksys RV042 Review: Solid Dual WAN, VPN Performer

The Linksys RV042 packs a lot of small-biz routing features into a compact chassis.

Linksys previews Media Center Extenders

Linksys has announced two Media Center Extenders that are "Coming in November".

The DMS 2100 Media Center Extender and DMA 2200 Media Center Extender with DVD Player are designed to support streamed content from PCs running Windows Vista Premium or Ultimate using Ethernet and draft 802.11n wireless connections.

Linksys Range Plus is Draft 11n in Disguise

Today's announcement by Linksys of its "affordable" Range Plus product line (WRT100, WPC100) is an odd one. The product line is described as using "MIMO" technology to provide extended coverage at a price point around $100. But a look at the FCC Test report reveals the real technology used.

Linksys adds MIMO WLAN line

Linksys today announced a new line of "affordable" wireless LAN products using MIMO technology.

The RangePlus line includes a Wireless Router (WRT100), Notebook Adapter (WPC100), PCI Adapter (WMP100), and USB Notebook Adapter (WUSB100).

Linksys describes the new line as using Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MIMO) technology, but makes no mention of whether the products are draft 802.11n compliant.

The WRT100 and WPC100 are available now at estimated street prices of $99.99 each. The other RangePlus products will be available in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Linksys NAS200 Review: Low price, disappointing performance

Linksys branding to be replaced by Cisco. No surprise here

The Uberpulse headline "Cisco kills Linksys brand, plans agressive move into consumer markets" is sure an attention getter, but comes as no surprise.

First, Chambers actually said: "It will all come over time into a Cisco brand"—which hardly amounts to an announcement that the Linksys brand has been, or will soon be, retired. And for those of us who deal regularly with the company and its products, it's really a statement of the obvious.

Skype Wi-Fi phone demand up

According to a DigiTimes report, demand for Skype Wi-Fi phones has been strong and is still growing.

The rise in sales is attributed to Skype's launch of its 'unlimited calls' preferential rate program earlier this year, improved phone functions and lower prices.

The report also said that Linksys ran out of Skype Wi-Fi phones in the US and had to allocate inventory from other markets.

Read the full article here.

Linksys to add second vendor for popular wireless router

Linksys is looking to diversify its vendor base beyond its primary vendor CyberTAN Technology.

According to a DigiTimes report, Linksys is planning to "switch part of its orders" for its ubiquitous WRT54G wireless router. The article says that Linksys' monthly sales of the WRT 54G routers could top as many as"500,000 units".

Read the entire DigiTimes article here.

Update2: D-Link, Netgear, Linksys, others get Wi-Fi N Certification

D-Link and Netgear today announced the first products to receive draft 2.0 802.11n certification from the Wi-Fi Alliance.

D-Link's DIR-655 Xtreme N Router and DWA-652 Notebook Adapter and Netgear's RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N Router – Gigabit Edition (WNR854T) and RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N Router (WNR834B) passed the Alliance's Certification test suite.

Products from other companies, including Linksys and Intel also have received the Wi-Fi Draft 2.0 certification. The official list can be found here.

According to the D-Link release, certification "guarantees interoperability among 11n products, adherence to security protocol and backward compatibility with previous generations of Wi-Fi gear, including popular 802.11g products".

The products will all be able to display the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 802.11n draft 2.0 logo.

Linksys Expands Small-Biz offerings

Linksys today rolled out a new round of services and products aimed at increasing its share of the small business networking market and forming a tighter bond with parent Cisco's VAR programs.

Along with a new financing program through Wells Fargo and enhancements to its Linksys Partner Connection Program for VARs, two new gigabit smart switches and two new Linksys One Service routers were announced.