Product Reviews

If you've ever set up a wireless network, we'll bet that you've struggled with range, speed and reliability. Belkin's Wireless Pre-N Router aims to stop these problems by using technology that is being discussed for the 802.11n standard, which isn't due to be ratified until 2006. While this means that there may be compatibility problems with future products, it also enables us to get an early introduction to Multiple In Multiple Out (MIMO).

This technology uses multiple aerials to transmit and receive data, giving wider coverage and a better signal, as radio waves can be bounced around obstructions.

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In the case of the Pre-N router, this means three aerials. With a turbo mode providing 108Mbit/s, we were eager to find out if it makes a difference.

Sure enough, using Belkin's PC Card in our test notebook we achieved a throughput of 28.9MB/s from close range. Moving 12 metres away, we still had a transfer rate of 23.3Mbit/s. This is much faster than any other wireless network we've seen and gives enough bandwidth to stream DVD content wirelessly. To help maintain this under load, there's a quality of service mode based on 802.11e that prioritises real-time traffic such as video and voice. Finally, the technology means that the router doesn't have to throttle down the speed of the network when a slower 802.11b or 802.11g client joins the network.

However, the router is complex to set up, especially as there's no configuration wizard to start with. The other problem is the price: £101 for the router is quite pricy, but £67 for the network adaptor is really expensive. Even so, this is the fastest wireless router we've seen. If you're looking for the best, don't mind that it's not based on a standard and can afford to pay a bit more, you'll be very happy with the Pre-N.