ASUS & new 802.11ac : news ????

[RMerlin]

I just wonder how castrated the average ac network interface will be when you buy a typical laptop with built-in 802.11ac. Look at the 802.11n interfaces, very few implement triple stream 450 Mbits. The majority of laptops still ship with single-stream 150 Mbits (half that if you set your router to 20 MHz bandwidth). So in my opinion, if people were so desperate for wireless performance, manufacturers would be pushing 300 and 450 Mbits more aggressively. But it seems the customer demand isn't there at this point.

I have a feeling people won't move massively to 802.11ac for at least a year.

 

[dbonin]

ASUS needs ROI to survive, but they have deep, diverse pockets, and their router business is a fraction of their product portfolio. The only reason the N16 is _still_ selling is because of the well known opensource community firmware support. Still, ASUS releases hardware with just enough juicy specs (N66) to keep the community buzzing until the next release (AC66) gains traction. The OS community will keep the N66 alive for years, as it still does for the N16 - but ASUS has to continue to at least keep up, if not try to lead the pack, when it comes to new technology - even if it means leaving a relatively new product in the dust after only 12 months. Fortunately for us, the opensource heros will keep the N66 alive for years to come and ASUS will continue to sell them, at a more reasonable price, long after the new kid comes to town. Stow away your N66 packaging - it will retain decent resale value when you want to move on!

 

[pbmpharmacist]

Like me, some people may need a new router and were prepared to get a RT-N66U until they saw that the RT-AC66U is almost available. While they may not need an AC router now, AC devices will be coming out fairly fast in the following months.

I was 100% sold on buying an Asus RT-N66U. I had it my cart and was just doing final research before buying and then I saw the RT-AC66U. I guess I might as well wait for the RT-AC66U now. My DIR-655 still works for the time being, but I really would like an upgrade!

 

[luhar1010]

movies 2011

I don’t know if everyone agrees to this or not, but manufacturers should really consider improving the quality of existing wireless devices. The speed measured is adequate and we can perhaps wait for a few more years before taking on the 802.11ac.