Netgear R6300 802.11AC Dual Band Gigabit Router Launch!

Netgear R6300

Netgear announched the launch of the its new R6300 Dual Band Gigabit Wifi Router! The router is based on Broadcom’s 802.11ac router chipset. The router provides a/b/g/n support as well as 5.0ghz and 2.4ghz N support. Expected bandwidth should be 1300Mbps @ 5.0GHz and 450Mbps @ 2.4GHz.The router also sports 4x Gigabit ports, 2x USB 2.o ports for both storage and printing requirements, and of course 1x Wan port.

The downside to being an early adopter is that 802.11ac is not widely supported. Chances are your devices do not support 802.11ac, not to mention wifi cards with 802.11ac are not available on the market. I’m very curious to see how this router stacks up to the new Cisco EA 4500 with claims a bandwidth of 900Mbps without using 802.11ac.

As of posting, the router is set to launch early May with a retail price tag of $199.99.

Some of the added features include:

• 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 MyMedia™: 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 ™ 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.

The Netgear R6300 is definitely way ahead of the game when it comes to supporting 802.11ac, but maybe a little to far ahead with little device support.

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