Why doesn’t my wireless notebook exceed more than 10Mbps (megabits per second)? How can I speed this up?

If you’re not breaking 11Mbps, either your notebook or wireless access point is probably using the 802.11b standard. To achieve higher wireless bandwidth, both your notebook and the wireless accessvpoint must be upgraded to the 802.11g standard (up to 54Mbps) or the emerging 802.11n standard (up to 540Mbps). You’re limited to the slowest part of your network link. For example, if you use an 802.11n wireless router but use a notebook with an 802.11b wireless NIC (network interface card), you’ll be stuck at the slower 802.11b rate.

Read more »

What is RangeMax NEXT? It’s a router that extends the possibilities of your wireless home network by providing a steady stream of up to 270Mbps, and is compliant with draft 802.11n. This next-generation wireless standard utilizes advanced MIMO (Multi-In, Multi-Out) technology, which delivers incredible speed and range and, for the first time, provides wireless interoperability at the highest speeds with other products with Intensi-fi.

A RangeMax NEXT wireless network creates and maintains stable connections and enough bandwidth to surf the Internet, download MP3s, make Internet phone calls, share files, play network games, and stream high-definition videos, simultaneously at any distance or location in the home or office. Because RangeMax NEXT is compatible with all legacy b and g wireless products, you are sure to be connected.

Read more »

According to belkin officials, the Skype organization is very specific about how a GUI should look and how a keypad should behave for a device to be Skype Certified. Indeed, we had a nearly identical experience while configuring and using each of the phones we tested. However, we found Netgear’s SPH101 much more responsive than the Accton-based phones, with screens quickly painting and commands quickly executing.

Part of the reason we liked Netgear’s overall experience was its superior TFT (thin film transistor) LCD screen, which was much brighter and cleaner than the CSTN (color super-twist nematic) screen in the Accton-based devices.

Each phone we tested automatically downloaded our Skype contacts from Skype’s servers within minutes of connecting to the network. The process of navigating each phone’s interface to find and dial contacts or to dial a SkypeOut number from scratch was intuitive.

In fact, each of the phones left us satisfied, we found sound quality and radio coverage up to our expectations. But our level of satisfaction dropped like a stone when we started moving around with the phone a rather critical problem for mobile devices.

Read more »

The new generation of WiFi-enabled Skype phones promise to unchain users from their PCs while providing the same cheap and accessible voice-over-IP service that users have come to expect from Skype. Unfortunately, some of the products failed to deliver much in the way of useful mobility. They may work adequately for a user sitting at a desk or on the couch, but trying to use these phones around the office or out in the world is out of the question right now. And the one product has too little battery life to be useful.

The WI-FI Phones
The Netgear Skype WiFi Phone (SPH101), which lists for $249, as well as a pair of phones based on Accton’s VM1185T design (SMC’s $190 WSKP-100 Wi-Fi Phone for Skype and Belkin’s $189 Wi-Fi Phone for Skype Model F1PP000GNSK).

Both the Netgear and SMC phones are available now, while Belkin’s device is expected to be available this month.

Read more »

Though WiMax (Wi-Fi combined with the universal signal of cellular) has been slow to gain traction, Sprint Nextel for one has now chosen it as the basis for a “4G” network. The company plans to launch on a trial basis by 2007 with download speeds of up to 4 megabits per second, and to give service to 100 million people by 2008.

In late 2007 , Sprint/Nextel will roll out mobile WiMax service (a highspeed wireless technology) in test markets, with the goal of serving as many as 100 million people in 2008. The “4G” service, which will coexist with the company’s current 3G cellular network, will provide 2-megabitsper-second to 4-mbps downstream speed, with 500 kilobits per second to 1 mbps upstream.

Peter Cannistra, director of broadband strategy and planning for Sprint/Nextel, says that the 4G network will be faster than any previous mobile service, and that its speed may be suffi cient for use both on the road and at home.

Read more »

The Logitech Wireless DJ System that promises an easy way to play the tunes stored on your PC through your stereo speakers, with no wireless network required. The product is easily setup and the fact that you don’t have to spring for a router. The joy of the Wireless DJ System is its simple setup: Install the included software on your PC, attach its wireless transmitter to a USB port on your computer, and then connect its wireless receiver to your stereo with the included RCA cables.

Once you install its StreamPoint software on your computer, it identifies which audio players your machine has; the device plays any files that are associated with iTunes, Musicmatch, or Windows Media Player. The system also will stream music from the Rhapsody and Yahoo Music Unlimited services, as well as from Internet radio stations.

Read more »

Come 2007, Singaporeans will be ushering the new year with at least 24 months of free basic-tier wireless connectivity at up to 512 kbps speeds almost everywhere on the island-state, thanks to IDA’s ‘Wireless@SG’ program.

Wireless@SG is Singapore’s new wireless broadband program that will be developed and run in the next two years by three local wireless operators. This October, IDA accepted the proposals from iCELL Network Pte Ltd, QMAX Communications and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd to the government’s two-year Call-For-Collaboration (CFC) to kick-start the nation’s progressive deployment of a widely available wireless broadband network by September 2007. This network will complement and extend broadband access, which currently available in homes, offices and schools to public places.

Read more »