Digital Inspiration - The Tech Guide

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Linksys Announces 'Connected Home'

Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems has unveiled its 'Connected Home' concept in India, introducing products ranging from Wireless Printers, IP cameras, gaming adaptors, wireless-G Music Bridge and Wi- Fi routers.

The Linksys Connected Home Concept is designed to allow various systems and devices in a home, to communicate and integrate with each other, so people may share multimedia anytime, anywhere at home. For example, the Linksys Music Bridge (WMB54G) lets users wirelessly stream Internet music services and music from PCs, onto their Home entertainment center. The gaming adapter will allow users to connect their gaming consoles to their PCs, while the Internet cameras will enable users to send live video via the Internet, anywhere in the world. The print server will allow users to share a printer without running wires from one room to another.

According to Linksys, "With broadband penetration in India breaking new barriers everyday, the connected home is fast becoming a reality for the average Indian. The solution overall is cost effective as well. A wireless router can cost between Rs 4000 to Rs 6000 depending on the range needed. Most notebooks would have built in wireless capabilities, and each PC would require a wireless adapter, costing Rs 2000 or so. With LinkSys products, various gadgets can be connected in the home network, depending on different needs."

The pricing for the Linksys Connected Home products is listed as below:Wireless-G Printer Server (WPS54G): Rs 6,600Wireless-G PTZ Internet Camera (WVC200): Rs 19,900Compact Wireless-G Internet Video Camera( WVC54GC): Rs 8,900Wireless-G Gaming adapter (WGA54G): Rs. 5,900Wireless-G Music Bridge (WMB54G):5900

Linksys also unveiled three wireless routers — The Linksys Compact all in one Wireless-G broadband router with a wireless wireless access point which allows users to connect Wireless G (802.11gat 54 Mbps) and Wireless B(802.11 at 11 Mbps) devices to the network. It also features a built-in 4 port full duplex 10/100 switch to connect wired Ethernet devices together. The router function ties all these together, to let users share a high speed cable or DSL connection.

The next product is the Three-in-one Wireless-N Broadband Router. The access point built into a router uses the latest wireless networking technology, Wireless N (draft 802.11N). By overlaying the signals of multiple radios, Wireless N's "Multiple–In Multiple-Out" (MIMO) technology multiplies the effective data rate. The MIMO technology uses signal reflections to increases the range and reduce 'dead spots' in the wireless coverage area.With wireless–N, the farther away you are, the more speed advantage you get. Wireless N technology is backward compatible but when both ends of the wireless link are Wireless N, the router can increase the throughput by using twice as much radio band, offering speeds up to 12 times as fast as standard Wireless G.

Linksys also enables easy setting up of wireless network via its SecureEasySetup (SES). The system enters complicated configuration settings automatically eliminating the need to manually enter them. Linksys says "Configuring a system is more because an encrypted channel of communication is established between the router and access point. This eliminates any possibility of a hijacker intercepting the codes."

The Linksys wireless access point with push button SES lets users connect Wireless G (802.11b)devices to wired networks, so users can add PCs to the network without using cables.