Product Reviews

There are several pre-N routers on the market designed to offer faster throughput and a wider wireless range; however, as they don't use an official standard, there's no guarantee they'll work with full 802.11n products when they're released. Belkin's Wireless G+ MIMO Modem Router is WiFi-certified, so it's compatible with all existing wireless kit.

It has a built-in ADSL2+ modem, so you can connect it directly to your broadband connection. Router configuration is performed through its management webpage. A quick-start wizard prompts you for an ADSL username and password. The wizard didn't prompt us to turn on wireless security and

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didn't prompt to create a management password. Compared to the detailed configuration wizards Buffalo and US Robotics use, Belkin's setup wizard is disappointing. Configuring the settings manually isn't too hard, though, as the web-based management is well laid out and easy to access.

Tests using a Centrino notebook produced average results, although it was good to see little drop in throughput speeds between our Near and Far tests, which shows that the Wireless G+ Router produces a strong signal. Getting the Wireless G+ MIMO Notebook Card to work was a nightmare. Belkin's client software let us connect to the wireless network, but wouldn't lease an IP address. We disabled this client and used the Windows Wireless Zero Configuration wizard.

As you can see from the throughputs, the router performed brilliantly, with barely any drop-off in speed moving 10m away. We could get a connection 20m away, through two walls and our lifts, although the connection was slow and suitable only for light web browsing.

The throughputs are brilliant, but Belkin needs to work on its configuration and wireless client. If you're not confident with wireless networking, US Robotics' MAXg router is easier to configure and use.