802.11

Get an SMC Wireless-N router for $19.99 shipped

Before I get to today's deal, two quick housekeeping items.

First, subscribers to the Cheapskate newsletter are often frustrated because the deals are sold out or expired by the time they receive the e-mail (which tends to go out several hours after I've posted). I apologize for the hassle, but it's just the nature of my particular beast. Your best bet is to visit the Cheapskate page directly between 10 a.m. and noon ET; that's usually when I post the daily deal.

Second, I get scads of e-mail from our friends to the north, who … Read more

Five-deal Friday: Save big on storage, games, Wi-Fi, and more

I really wasn't intending to write up five different deals today, but I just couldn't settle on one. Take a look:

1. Newegg has a Samsung 1-terabyte internal SATA hard drive for $41.99 (plus around $7 for shipping). That is just... just... words fail me. Granted, this is an open-box, bare-bones drive, meaning you don't get so much as a SATA cable along with it. But I've never seen a lower price on a terabyte. Wow.

2. Want to upgrade the Wi-Fi performance of an older laptop or desktop? Meritline has the Tenda W311U 802.11n USB adapter for $8.99 shipped.… Read more

How AT&T made Steve Jobs look bad...again

At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, CEO Steve Jobs had an embarrassing onstage moment when he lost his Wi-Fi connection during his keynote presentation as he tried to download files to demo the difference in screen quality between an iPhone 3GS and the new iPhone 4.

The download failed, and his demo crashed on the new iPhone 4 because he couldn't maintain a solid Wi-Fi connection.

Certainly not the optimal time for a demo to fail, but at least now Jobs knows how iPhone users feel every day, as we suffer with AT&T's poor cellular network performance. And it should be pointed out that device tethering between attendees' laptops and cell phones may well have reduced these issues, if only AT&T allowed users to tether.

After the initial crash, Jobs later came back and asked people to turn off their access points (as in their MiFi, which is a line of compact wireless routers produced by Novatel Wireless that act as mobile Wi-Fi hot spots).

Jobs claimed that there were 570 of them in that hall. As Sam Diaz at ZDNet pointed out, "The problem is that if 10 percent of the 5,000 people in an audience create their own Wi-Fi networks in that room, there are now 500+ 'networks' all competing for the same wireless spectrum to transmit those signals--including the original Wi-Fi networks that the presenter has established in the room."

After some time, as he pressured more people to turn off their cell phones and put their laptops to sleep, he managed to do the demo. CNET's own Rafe Needleman made the excellent point that your bad network is not my problem on his ProPR Tips blog.

It's understandable that Jobs would get upset about something not working in a demo, but it's shocking that the company didn't set up a special network for him, instead hoping for the best on a consistently flaky Moscone Center Wi-Fi network. And, of course, the demand for everyone to comply in their own best interest to see the demo is so typically egotistical of Apple that it's not even shocking anymore. … Read more

Is your 802.11n Wi-Fi feeling sluggish? This simple solution could help

With many routers now transmitting Wi-Fi signals using the 802.11n standard (including all of Apple's current router offerings), some users may find that they are unable to take advantage of the increased speeds. This is most likely due to the password settings users have chosen for their network.… Read more

Get an 802.11n Wi-Fi router with print/FTP server for $21.99 shipped

Still haven't pulled the trigger on an 802.11n (aka Wireless N) router? You should. It'll provide faster throughput, better range, stronger security, and more features than your clunky old 802.11b or g router.

Normally, a replacement like that would run you upward of $60, but right now Buy.com has the Asus RT-N13U Wireless N Router for just $21.99 shipped. That's after a $20 mail-in rebate (PDF), however, which comes in the form of a prepaid Visa debit card.

Update: As of around noon, EDT, it appears the router is sold out. "Temporarily,&… Read more

Wi-Fi smartphones to dominate

LAS VEGAS - In the next few years it will be difficult to buy a new smartphone that does not have built-in Wi-Fi for speedy Net access, according to a report that ABI Research and the Wi-Fi Alliance published Tuesday.

Today, about half the smartphones sold have Wi-Fi. By 2014, the forecast goes, about 90 percent of smartphones will offer access to Wi-Fi.

The big driver for Wi-Fi is bandwidth-intensive multimedia applications, such as graphically intense games and streaming video. The Apple iPhone was among the first devices to show the true benefit of having Wi-Fi. AT&T, the … Read more

Get an 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter for $12.99

You may have noticed a minor change here at the ol' Cheapskate blog: I'm now posting later in the day.

Before now, I'd usually publish my daily deal at around 10 a.m. ET--only to routinely watch it sell out at around 10:43. That's pretty frustrating, especially for West Coast readers who aren't even awake yet.

Thus, I'm experimenting with a later post time, usually in the neighborhood of 12-2 p.m. ET. So far, this has resulted in fewer sold-out/expired deals. Let me know if you like, don't like, or don'… Read more

The 802.11n land grab

Although it wasn't ratified until September, the 802.11n wireless networking standard has been around for quite some time. In fact, the seven-year journey to ratification officially involved more than 400 individuals ranging from equipment and silicon suppliers, service providers, systems integrators, consultant organizations, and academic institutions from more than 20 countries.

After reading that this de facto standard was now in fact an actual standard I asked Jay Botelho, director of product management at network monitoring and troubleshooting vendor WildPackets, if becoming a true standard means anything to the industry and the vendors that support it.

Q: What are the benefits of 802.11n? Jay Botelho: The biggest benefit by far is more throughput--significantly more throughput--from a theoretical maximum of 54Mbps to 600Mbps with the right hardware configuration. It is this leap in throughput that makes applications like Voice over WLAN (VoWLAN) and even video over wireless feasible. It is also the reason why the claim is being made that 11n will drive more new installations to be wireless-only.

I wouldn't go so far as to say 11n is more viable than cable--each has its pros and cons. Cable (wired) handles unlimited users without effecting throughput, while wireless is shared - the more users the less throughput each one gets. On the other hand wireless is far less expensive and easier to deploy so this is a key benefit in new construction.

802.11n has been around forever it seems. Realistically, will ratification translate to a surge in deployments? Botelho: Many enterprises held off with 11n upgrades (and therefore wireless upgrades in general) for fear that the ratified spec would be substantially different from the Draft2.0 spec (the one the Wi-Fi Alliance based its pre-ratification certification tests on). Now that this question is no longer an issue, and since there's probably some pent-up demand since wireless upgrades in general may have been put on hold, it is expected that there will be a surge in deployments. As an aside, there is very little difference between the Draft2.0 version and the ratified version. … Read more

Your wireless Xbox connection just got faster

We had seen the wireless 802.11n Xbox 360 adapter pop up a few months ago and now Microsoft has officially released the $100 Wi-Fi accessory. In anticipation of the console's next firmware update--which will allow for 1080p video content off the Xbox Live Marketplace--the adapter promises a faster connection, better range, and improved security.

With the Wireless N Network Adapter now available, Microsoft has lowered the price on the existing a/b/g-compatible wireless adapter to as low as $70 online.

We'll have a full review of the new Xbox 360 wireless networking accessory in the coming … Read more