Product Reviews

KCorp delayed the release of its product until it was confident that everything was right. It's noticeable too as, from the firmware to the manual to the installation software, everything feels well polished and works perfectly out of the box.

The router is based on the Atheros chipset, which uses 54Mb/sec channel-binding to deliver speeds of 108Mb/sec, though be aware that this is only the theoretical maximum and won't ever be achieved in reality. You'll need to use a KCorp adaptor to achieve the best speeds, but everything is backwards compliant with standard 802.11g and 802.11b adaptors.

To test KCorp's offering,

In the three 802.11g-based tests, the USR router recorded times of 65, 116 and 367 seconds. In stark contrast, the KCorp managed blistering times of 33, 34 and 37 seconds. It also trounced the USR router in the 802.11b test, transferring files in 175 seconds as opposed to the USR's 212 seconds.

The device sports 802.1x encryption, 64-bit and 128-bit WEP and also WPA. Other features include MAC filtering, URL filtering, IP filtering, domain blocking and protocol filters. You can also filter ports, set up a DMZ and create your own firewall rules. It lacks an ADSL modem, so you'll need an Ethernet port-based network or modem to share a web connection.

Overall, when you combine the features with such performance and a competitive price, newcomer KCorp storms straight on to our A List.