Linksys Reveals its Fastest Wireless AC Router

On Friday Belkin-owned networking company Linksys launched its fastest wireless router yet, the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi AC1900 Router. The company claims this device offers Wireless N speeds on the 5 GHz band at 600 Mbps, the fastest this wireless spec can push, and up to 1300 Mbps Wireless AC speeds on the same band. That\'s plenty fast for both specs, but the premium speed comes with a premium price: $249 USD.


"Beamforming technology helps to deliver better network range and faster Wi-Fi speeds in the home," the company said. "Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Routers with beamforming technology are designed to precisely adjust, steer and monitor the direction and shape of the Wi-Fi signals for better performance."

The device comes packed with four Gigabit Ethernet ports, one Gigabit WAN port, one USB 2.0 port and one USB 3.0 port, the latter of which would be ideal for streaming large media files over the network when using a USB 3.0 external hard drive. The USB 2.0 port would be best utilized for sharing music, documents and photos.

The company said the device uses a dual-core processor clocked at 800 MHz for maximum performance, and backs the router's "enhanced" web interface that can be accessed by iOS/Android apps for tablets and smartphones, and PC-based browsers. The router can even be set up using mobile devices; simply connect to the router and then follow the simple set-up wizard.

"Our products are not only extremely fast, they are also easy to install and control through the innovative Linksys Smart Wi-Fi platform," said Mike Chen, Senior Director Home Networking at Belkin. "With your Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Account and App you can get access anywhere and anytime to media stored on a connected USB storage device or change settings of the router -- all from the palm of your hand."

Other features offered with the new router include DLNA certified media streaming (server), wireless WPA/WPA2 encryption and an SPI firewall, guest access, parental controls, device quality of service (QoS), and simple-tap setup supporting NFC devices. The three external dipole antennae are removable for maximum flexibility.

The new router will be available next month for $249 USD. However, Linksys is now offering a dual-band Wireless AC adapter for $69 offering speeds up to 867 Mbps Wireless AC speeds on the 5 GHz band and up to 300 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band.