CES - Gadgets

Seagate's GoFlex drive goes superslim

LAS VEGAS--Seagate made a huge splash in the pond of external hard drives during 2010 with the GoFlex family, which includes the GoFlex Desk and the GoFlex Ultra-portable. These new drives don't just look good and offer high capacities; they are also superflexible, allowing for use of virtually any type of connectivity via interchangeable adapters.

The company today announced a new member of this GoFlex family of portable hard drives: the GoFlex Slim, which is arguably the slimmest portable drive that's based on the 2.5-inch internal hard drive. The new drive is just 9 millimeters thin, about … Read more

Netgear AV 200 Nano power-line kit shrinks

LAS VEGAS--One of the nuisances about snap-on power-line adapters is that they are bulky and therefore obstruct the adjacent power sockets.

This is, however, not an issue with what Netgear announced today, the Powerline AV 200 Nano Adapter Kit (model XAVB2101). The company called it the "smallest 200Mbps power-line AV adapter currently available worldwide."

The kit includes two identical power-line adapters that are small enough to fit in your palm. When mounted on the wall socket, it's clear that the adapter won't be in the way if you want to use another socket nearby.

These adapters … Read more

Netgear Genie to help manage home networks

LAS VEGAS--If you have one of the new wireless routers from Cisco, such as the Valet Plus, the Linksys E3000, or the Linksys E2000, you'll need the desktop software called Cisco Connect that makes setting up and managing the network a no-brainer, even for novice users.

Today, Netgear announced a similar application called Netgear Genie that the company says can do the same thing and a lot more.

The application itself is still in the final beta stage. However, according to Netgear, Genie is a "home network dashboard that enables consumers to monitor, connect, and control their home … Read more

Netgear debuts wireless router with built-in powerline support

LAS VEGAS--Powerline is a network connectivity solution that turns your home's electrical wiring into data cables and hence allows for expanding the wired networking through out the house without having to run network cable all over the place.

You can conveniently add a power-line connection to any existing network by using a power-line kit, such as the Linksys PLK300, the WD Livewire, or the Netgear AV 200. All of these kits include at least two adapters, the minimum you need to create the first power-line connection, since you need an adapter at each end. After that you can buy … Read more

Netgear's new dual-band router offers 450Mbps on 5GHz band

LAS VEGAS--It's been getting more and more exciting in the wireless networking world recently since Trendnet shipped the first 450Mbps single-band Wireless-N router, the TEW-691GR, and announced yesterday the first 450Mbps true-dual band Wireless N router (model TEW-692GR).

Netgear today joined the party by announcing its first 450Mbps dual-band router, the N750 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router (model WNDR4000).

Like those from Trendnet, Netgear's new networking device is based on the three-stream standard (or 3 by 3), in which each stream carries up to 150Mbps, hence the cap of 450Mbps.

The WNDR4000, however, unlike the TEW-692GR from Trendnet, … Read more

Netgear overhauls its ADSL wireless router combo solution

LAS VEGAS--Two years ago, Netgear announced its first dual-band Wireless-N router with built-in DSL modem, the RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Router + DSL Modem DGND3300, offering DSL consumers a high-end alternative to modem/wireless router combo solutions offered by service providers, which tend to be slow and lacking.

Now, here at CES 2011, the company is kicking this solution up a notch, by announcing today the N600 Wireless  Dual-Band Gigabit ADSL Modem DGND3700 Router, which it calls "the ultimate home gateway."

The new DGND3700 differentiates itself from the old DGND330 via a long list of new features. Apart from the fact that it also has a built-in DSL modem, supports concurrent dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz), and other usual networking and security features, it also offers:

Two USB ports to support external storage. These ports are compatible with Netgear's ReadyShare network storage functionality.

Gigabit Ethernet and DLNA compliance that allows for network digital media streaming to any DLNA-compliant TV, game console, or media player within the network.

Live parental controls that enable comprehensive Web filtering functionality.

Guest networking, which allows for giving separate Internet access to guests while keeping them from accessing local resources, such as file or printers.

A broadband usage meter that automatically tracks broadband usage notifies if a set level is reached.… Read more

Netgear upgrades its premium wireless router

LAS VEGAS--If you like Netgear's premium WNDR3700 router, you'll likely love what the company announced today. It's the upgraded version of the company's flagship router, now called N600 Wireless Dual-Band Gigabit Router--Premium Edition, model number WNDR3800.

This is Netgear's high-end, noncompromising consumer wireless router that has two USB ports to host printers and external storage devices. The router offers what the WNDR3700 had, plus a handful of new features, including:

Readability Remote: a feature that allows users to access their data on a USB external storage device attached to the router from any Mac, PC, … Read more

Netgear intros universal Wi-Fi range extender

LAS VEGAS--If you have a large house or apartment, it's tricky to get the Wi-Fi signal to every corner. Even when you have the most powerful wireless router, the range never seems to be far enough.

This has been an ongoing issue with consumers, but Netgear offered a new and easy solution today by announcing its new universal Wi-Fi range extender, the WN3000RP.

The device increases the coverage of an existing home wireless network by automatically extending the signal of the network to which it is connected. According to Netgear, all consumers need to do is place the product … Read more

Western Digital announces fast high-capacity laptop hard drive

LAS VEGAS--Western Digital announced today a new laptop hard drive that offers 750GB, the WD Scorpio Black 750GB. Though this drive's capacity isn't going to blow anybody's mind--laptop hard drives reached 1.5TB a while ago (though more are available in external form)--it's one of few consumer-grade drives that spin at 7,200rpm.

This is an upgrade to the company's WD Scorpio Blue drive, which was announced in early 2010, that offers the same amount of storage but spins at 5,400rpm.

Western Digital claims that the WD Scorpio Black is one of the … Read more