Next Gen WiFi

WiFi has been stuck for a while, as the standard went from "b" to "g" (with a detour to "a"), then seemingly endless "pre-n," and most recently "n."  Because it took so long to go from "pre-n" to "n," I think it made the true "n" somewhat anticlimactic.  The current "n" gear is certainly solid and stable (I use a Linksys E4200 these days), but it hardly feels next generation a year after it came into the house.

Hopefully, this should be changing soon.  The latest standard is designated as 802.11ac.  It operates on both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz portions of the spectrum, and is designed to prioritize streaming video.  While future iterations will offer faster speeds, Trendnet is debuting their new router, the TEW-800MB, that can hit a speedy 1.3 Gbps.  For the record, this handily trounces the current 802.11n gear that maxes out at 450 Mbps.

The product is expected in the Fall of 2012, for around $200.

[Tech PowerUp]