Draft-N in the office!

Our first Draft-N unit, the Buffalo Nfiniti, is here! Here's an over-stylised image!

MIMO and G

Cheap but not so cheerful

As if attempting to confuse and confound the consumer further, Belkin has sent us this brand new kit. It's branded G+ MIMO and is designed to fit in between Super-G and MIMO proper - what Belkin misleadingly calls Pre-N. The object of this kit is essentially that it uses a cheaper version of Airgo's MIMO chipset - therefore passing on the cost savings to the consumer. But this premise isn't quite true. Dixons has listed the ADSL version of the kit for £89.99 which isn't a lot less than the £106 Broadband Buyer is charging for full-fat MIMO. In any case, it only has two antennae, so it's not designed to have either the throughput or range of the full-blown version. Mind you, range is still pretty good (benchmarks to follow) so might be worth buying if you can find a cheap unit, or DSG put it on special...

No, not MIMO!

Some still suggesting MIMO as best compromise

Glenn Fleishman and Becky Waring are right to point out the limitations of Draft-N kits. But where I think they're slightly wide of the mark is what they have to say about MIMO. Both are set against users buying Draft-N. And rightly so. But Fleishman, while right to say consumers should wait, suggests that if they can't because of the need for extra range, they should buy MIMO. I don't believe in this. If they're willing to take a risk, Draft-N is the route to go. While there is a lot of controversy about it, there is a very, very good chance that Draft-N will be firmware upgradeable to 802.11n. Secondly, the Gen3 Airgo MIMO chips don't offer great interoperability. Indeed, they seriously compromise surrounding networks. Original MIMO units may be a good interim solution. But, with the bigger picture in mind, we should be encouraging end users to bide their time. Waring, on the other hand, seems to suggest that Draft-N is inferior to Airgo's Gen3 chips because of the poorer throughput. But end users should not be encouraged to pick up boxes such as the Linksys SRX400; owing to worries at the companies concerned, kits featuring Gen3 chips from Buffalo, Netgear and Linksys hardly appeared on UK shores, especially when Draft-N was in sight. And indeed, while Draft-N isn't ideal, at least it has some kind of future.

12,000 good reasons

IEEE deluged by comments on Draft-N

When the IEEE 'agreed' on version 1.0 of the Draft-N poposal, it wasn't expecting over 12,000 comments on it. This has serious implications for the release of a Draft 2.0 version, but probably won't delay next year's slated date for ratification. It all depends whether any of the comments are significantly worthy, and whether the big silicon manufacturers are prepared to render the already released Draft-N kit incompatible with the eventual 802.11n standard. Sources we've spoken to suggest that it's possible to do a hell of a lot with the firmware in these kits, since the deluge of comments weren't completely unexpected.

Tom's silly season

Site implores people to get Draft-N kits. Oh dear.

An interesting if ranty piece over at Tom's Hardware, implying that it's 'our duty as consumers' to buy Draft-N kits. It isn't. The trouble with imporing people to buy it now is that, while we as journalists get the chance to play with this stuff for free, Man On The Street has to commit not inconsiderable amounts of cash to such folly. Wait for the second revision. Unless you're willing to risk it for garden-based Wi-Fi in time for summer. Mind you, nice weather doesn't seem likely at the moment...

Draft-N in action

Tales from a London demo

Yesterday I went to London to see 802.11n in action. Inside a well-worn meeting room at the Hilton Olympia, Buffalo and Broadcom had set up a selection of laptops linked to a Buffalo Nfiniti Draft-N router. This was in turn plugged into a Buffalo Terastation Pro handily stocked with stored HD content.

The first part of the demo involved the transfer of several HD streams from the Terastation onto various laptops along the desks. I witnessed 15Mbps and 20Mbps streams being transferred simultaneously. It worked brilliantly. Craig Reid, Product Specialist for Buffalo assured me they had managed to get three simultaneous streams working, but as everyone in the hotel got up and started to use the hotel Wi-Fi, there was obvious signal degredation. Due to technical problems with one of the laptops, I didn't see a Chariot test in action, but earlier results had indicated results upwards of 120Mbps - that's seriously good. We'll get the chance to have a play ourselves later this week.

Broadcom was also using an excellent spectrum analyser called the Wi-Spy. It's only GBP100 and picks up any signals in the 2.4GHz spectrum. Easy interference spotting, then. However, lack of 5GHz compatibility could limit its usefulness.

Netgear NEXT goes ADSL

First to market with solution

Netgear has announced it will be the first to launch an ADSL version of it's Draft-N Router from the RangeMax NEXT range. As the company hasn't bothered to send us the image we requested, take a look at the router - coded DG834N - here. The modem is pretty future proof - it's ADSL2+ compatible while security is tighter than ever with an SPI Double Firewall. The other kits in Netgear's RangeMax NEXT list are the Wireless Router Gigabit Edition with 10/100/1000 Switch (WNR854T) and Notebook Adapter Gigabit Edition (WN511T), RangeMax NEXT Wireless Router with 10/100 Switch (WNR834B) and RangeMax NEXT Wireless Notebook Adapter (WN511B). Note the special Gigabit Ethernet editions.

Wireless Wii

Controllers use Bluetooth

Broadcom has announed it will be the supplier of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chipsets for Nintendo's new Wii console. The Bluetooth element is crucial, since the Wii uses it for its wireless controllers. Wi-Fi will also be seamlessly integrated, unlike with the Xbox 360.

What Airgo did next

Bitter statement says 'we told you so'

Airgo has now released the full text of it's statement to us. And it's clear that there is more than a little bit of bile.

"The rejection of Draft 1.0 by the working group highlights the clear desire for significant changes to the draft. The most significant changes required are changes to improve interoperability with legacy devices; Draft 1.0 is clearly deficient in protecting the operation of installed networks. By the end of 2006 there will be around 80M installed .11b/g networks and these need better protection than Draft 1.0 can offer."

This is fair enough. Draft 1.0 is clearly not ideal. Time for the stock quote from the boss, then...

"This is exactly what the standards process is for – to identify flaws and ensure they are addressed for the best interests of the consumer,” said Greg Raleigh, CEO of Airgo Networks. “While we are extremely keen to see a fully ratified standard as soon as possible, we believe performance, ease of use and interoperability are absolutely critical and the standard must support these requirements. Since the Draft 1.0 fell short on several important areas we are pleased to see they will all be addressed in the next draft."

Yes, yes, we know all that. And yes, the draft will address the issues. So now it's time for the hammerblow.

"Today’s outcome proves that Draft 1.0 was not as stable as some in the industry would have us believe. It calls into question the validity of so-called ‘draft n’ products. Airgo will continue to pursue its strategy of waiting until a more mature, stable draft is established before introducing products that comply. In the meantime, we continue to offer the highest-performing, most mature MIMO product on the market and are confident that consumers will continue to choose the superior performance our chips offer."

Wait. So that's the same high performing MIMO chipsets that have been shown to blow everything else out of the water? Oh Greg, you were doing so well with your holier than thou stance...

Don’t buy Draft N hardware

Yep, you heard us right.

If you want to rush out and buy Draft N kit, forget it. Really. We really are telling you not to get the latest and greatest. Because, while it’s the latest, an Achilles heel in the way the Draft N spec has been put together ensures that, at the moment, it isn’t the greatest and is very much Rev A.

Here’s the rub; every networking vendor is seeking to make a quick buck by shipping Draft N kits now. After all, they want consumers to buy wireless kit more regularly than there are new IEEE standards. So vendors release interim models, such as the recent spate of non-standard MIMO kits. And now that Draft N has been agreed, companies want to release firmware upgradeable kits now so they can cash in on you, the early adopter, much as they did with 802.11g.

Several weeks ago Airgo, makers of the True MIMO chipsets, made a fuss about the new 802.11n wireless standard causing interference with legacy 802.11b and g networks. The damage caused to Draft N was major, meaning that yesterday less than half of the IEEE votes – 46.6 per cent - were for approval. Oops indeed. However, this course of events isn’t unexpected given the recent unease around Draft N. But, while not likely, it means things can change beyond the point at which they’d be firmware upgradeable. However, this is really rather unlikely, especially given the kits are already onsale in the US.

What’s the craic?

The major issue centres around a 40MHz channel bonded mode of the draft standard which uses MIMO technology. Think of this as a turbo mode that may not be on all the routers being released. 40GHz has a problem since there are just three channels in the 2.4Ghz band that don’t already have a problem with overlapping.

“We find it rather ironic that Airgo is on one hand promoting its third-generation chipsets, which do cause interference with legacy devices, and on the other hand warning the public regarding the 1.0 draft specification,” said Atheros’ CTO Bill McFarland previous to the latest vote. The third generation of Airgo’s MIMO chipset, as featured in products including the Netgear RangeMax 240 and Linksys SRX 400 range has been criticised for the ‘bad neighbour’ syndrome.

“Any new changes will have to receive 75 per cent approval,” continued McFarland. “Additionally, companies have already been discussing the best techniques for the 802.11n standard for several years now. It’s very unlikely that a new technique would be introduced at this stage…”

2.0 inevitable

However, the recent development almost certainly means a second draft standard will be released. Airgo wasted no time to release a boastful statement: “Draft 1.0 is clearly deficient in protecting the operation of installed networks,” said Airgo CEO Greg Raleigh as he referred to early US comments on the Draft 802.11n kits being less than good neighbours for legacy Wi-Fi. Airgo was right to bring the issue to the fore, but wrong to position itself as being whiter than white.
Atheros and Broadcom also felt moved to comment on the events. Bill Bunch, Director of Product Marketing at Broadcom said the latest development was “typical at this stage”.

McFarland also set out the company line: “The 1.0 draft specification is still the one and only working draft,” he states. “The bar for the final 802.11n standard is set very high and we will go through several more ballots. A 'No' vote at this stage does not indicate that there will be radical changes to the standard.” And unlikely it is. But that little shred of doubt means you’d be more than a little silly to spend your hard earned cash on kit that might be a bad neighbour when 802.11n is finally ratified.

Belkin shines

It's got cool lights, too

Here's Belkin's new and imaginatively-named N1 Draft 802.11n kit. Leaving outmoded partner Airgo well and truly in the dust, Belkin has turned to Atheros and its XSPAN technology. Unlike Linksys, Belkin has also launched a PCI card adapter, with interesting trident antenna combo. The N1 also features a 'Network Status Display' that shows you the network status in icon form. It, and the rather luscious shiny finish, should mean the N1 looks fantastic, though the proof is in the pudding naturally. We've asked Belkin when we might see one, but seeing as the kit won't ship in even the US until June 1st, we're not holding our breath. They might be nice to us though.

Here's the kit with product codes and US pricing.

Router (F5D8231-4) – $149.99


Notebook Card (F5D8011) – $99.99


• Desktop Card (F5D8001) – $119.99

It's all about the look

Linksys reveals its new range

After previously being critical of Linksys' boring design ethos, I'm pleased the company has made special effort with its recently announced range of Draft 802.11n kit. The special effort being? It's silver for the EU market. In other territories the kits remain respondently Linksys blue. But while the colour scheme is better, it doesn't disguise that the remainder of the unit is BUTT UGLY. This one is the Wireless-N Broadband Router (WRT300N), while the company has also announced a Wireless-N Gateway (WAG300N). These kits are aimed at SOHO markets, but expect more consumer-orientated devices later in the year - hopefully when it's a little safer to buy 802.11n kits. Oh, and there's only one adapter for the moment, too, the Wireless-N Notebook Adapter (WPC300N). Expect them all to be rather costly, with suggested prices of £169 and £129 for the routers and a rather frightening £99 for the adapter.