With a sleek new antenna-less design and one router selling for less than US$100, Linksys hopes to breathe new life into what they admit have been disappointing sales of 802.11n products.
The Ultra RangePlus Wireless-N Broadband Router (WRT160N) sells for US$99 and has no external antennas.
The company says it managed to build the antennas internally without sacrificing performance.
The router also has a sleek new design with a case that’s slimmer in the middle than at the sides. A US$129 version, the WRT310N is largely the same, but features a gigabit ethernet connection instead of the 10/100 connection on the 160N.
The 802.11n technology boosts wireless networking speeds to something close to wired speeds.
But over the last year, 802.11n products accounted for only 36 per cent of revenue for networking firms, according to Linksys.
Linksys is also hoping to make setting up and maintaining a network simpler. Their products include a new four-step, animated setup guide that helps users establish their network name and password and choose a level of security.