NetGear Launch First 802.11ac Based R6300 WiFi Router with Gigabit Speeds

NetGear, a global manufacturer of networking equipment, appears to have become the first in the industry to launch a home/office wireless broadband router based off the new 802.11ac dual band gigabit WiFi standard. As a result the R6300 claims to deliver “5th generation” wireless network connectivity at “gigabit speeds“.

The new 802.11ac standard is special for a number of reasons, yet its ability to deliver speeds of up to and over 1Gbps (Gigabits per second) via the clearer 5GHz spectrum band (i.e. less interference) is undoubtedly one of the key selling points. But, due to the fact that the IEEE has yet to certify 802.11ac, the first commercial devices weren’t originally expected to ship until late 2012. Until now.

NetGears R6300 Summary

The NETGEAR R6300 WiFi Router, powered by Broadcom’s 5G WiFi IEEE 802.11ac chips, is up to three times faster than today’s 802.11n routers. With an elegant new design that fits perfectly in consumers’ living spaces, the router increases the coverage area for HD streaming in the home. The NETGEAR R6300 WiFi Router has speeds of up to 1300 Mbps on 5GHz and 450 Mbps on 2.4GHz enabling consumers to download web content from any device in the home in a fraction of the time it would take on a similar 802.11n device.

The increased speed of 802.11ac technology is ideal for mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets, by providing three times the performance for a similar amount of battery consumption of devices utilizing the current 802.11n WiFi standard.

NetGear R6300 Features

* NETGEAR Genie®: This free app for PCs, Macs, iOS and Android smartphones and tablets enables home users to control, monitor, repair, and manage their home networks easily through a simple, elegant dashboard. NETGEAR customers can download the utility at http://www.netgear.com/genie or from the Google Play or App Store.

* NETGEAR MyMediaTM: The NETGEAR Genie mobile app feature provides the ability to find photos, video or music files anywhere on the network and play them on a DLNA media player.

* AirPrint TM Support: The NETGEAR Genie app enables users to print on any USB or networked printer directly from an iPad or iPhone.

* Guest network access: The NETGEAR Genie app makes setting up a guest network simple. Guests and visitors can go online through the router without the need for secure login information. The guest network also prevents users from seeing and accessing a household’s computers, printers, storage devices and other home network devices.

* ReadySHARE® Printer: Makes it easy to turn any existing USB printer into a fully functional networked printer that is fully compatible with Macs and PCs.

* Media Server-DLNA: The R6300 Router is DLNA ready and can stream to any DLNA compatible device in your house, including the latest Smart TVs, Blu-ray players, media players, game consoles, handheld devices, tablets and more.

* NETGEAR Live Parental Controls: Centralized, flexible, and reliable parental control solution for all the devices on the network, including Macs, Windows PCs, smartphones and tablets, for a safe online environment for children and teenagers. No subscription is required.

* Automatic WiFi Security: Comes with wireless security turned on out-of-the-box, complete with a pre-configured network name and password, protecting home WiFi networks by default.

* Easy Installation: No CD required so users can set it up with smartphones, tablets, ultrabooks, and even MacBook Air.

* 2 USB ports: To simultaneously support USB storage and USB printer on the router.

The R6300 looks like a fairly solid piece of kit, although there’s little point in buying an 802.11ac router before you can even get supporting network adapters. Likewise there’s no mention of IPv6 support, which we find rather disappointing At least IPv6 support is included. Otherwise it looks like the perfect router for a future generation of fibre optic based Gigabit broadband services, especially thanks to its claimed network speed of up to 1300Mbps (Megabits per second).

Consumers, at least those of you in the USA, can expect to get your hands on this router from May 2012 and it’ll cost around £123 ($200); or probably more like £140 when you add on UK tax and shipping. Sadly there’s no word on a UK release date.