IFA 2007: Belkin N1-Vision - Routing in Style

Belkin unveils a wireless network router designed for style as well as performance.

A display keeps the user apprised of the network’s current bandwidth/speed, the computers’ bandwidth usage, and the status of any attached network devices. Using the interactive display and the buttons on the unit’s front, users can easily configure the N1-Vision without the help of a PC. Because of its independence as far as the configuration is concerned, the unit shouldn’t be hidden away in the farthest corner so settings can be changed at any time. Pragmatic reasons aside, though - the fact is that its design makes it easy to look at as well.

The stylish Belkin router supports the 802.11n Draft 2.0 specification with a nominal bandwidth of up to 300 MBit/s. In practice, the effective net-bandwidth will be closer to 144 MBit/s, though. For comparison, the current 802.11g standard only offers a (theoretical) maximum of 54 MBit/s.

The router’s Draft-1.0 based predecessor only manages a maximum of 270MBit/s. Due to chipset limitations, it can’t be upgraded to be Draft 2.0 compliant through a firmware update, either.

According to Belkin, the N1-Vision will be available as of October at a price of € 199. Although other 802.11n Draft 2.0 routers can be found for around £69 / €99, they don’t have the N1-Vision’s useful interactive display. Besides, unlike Belkin’s router, most of them certainly aren’t likely to win any design prizes.