LAS VEGAS--Your laptop might already have dual-band Wi-Fi, but how about Tri-band for a change?

Qualcomm and Wilocity today announced at CES 2013 the first Tri-band reference design that combines Wireless-N (802.11n), 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and 802.11ad (also known as WiGig) in one single networking product.

The new chip is based on the Qualcomm VIVE 802.11ac Wi-Fi chip, which was launched just a few days ago, and Wilocity 802.11ad WiGig wireless technologies. It's the first chip with tri-band Wi-Fi, meaning it offers wireless networking signals in all three existing bands of the Wi-Fi standard -- … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Buffalo upgraded its cloud-based service for NAS servers today, introducing the new LinkStation 400 Series. This is the first NAS server to come equipped with the company's updated BuffaloLink cloud storage system.

In a nutshell, the cloud-based service is intended to offer users an easy and secure way to access their digital content remotely via the Internet. Prior to this Buffalo has been offering Pogoplug-style cloud-based features via its CloudStor line of NAS servers, but that hasn't been much of a success.

The company says BuffaloLink was redesigned from the ground up and is hosted on … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Call it a minor upgrade, but that's what G-Technology has to offer this year at CES.

The storage vendor, which is now part of Western Digital, announced at CES 2013 that it now ships all of its popular G-Technology G-Drive Mini and G-RAID Mini external storage products with high-speed 1TB, 2.5-inch 7,200rpm hard drives.

Thanks to this, the G-Drive Mini, a compact single-volume external drive, now offers up to 136MBps performance speed. The drive offers both USB 3.0 and FireWire 8000 connection types and is bus-powered. It's preformatted for Mac and is now available … Read more

Google today is rolling out free public Wi-Fi in the Chelsea neighborhood in New York City.

The free public service, which is being unveiled today by Google Chief Technology Officer Ben Fried and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), is the largest contiguous Wi-Fi network in the entire city.

When folks enter the Chelsea neighborhood, which spans Gansevoort Street and 19th Street from 8th Avenue to the West Side Highway, including the Chelsea Triangle, 14th Street Park, and Gansevoort Plaza, they'll have free access to a Wi-Fi connection provided by Google.

The search giant has been making a push in New … Read more

LAS VEGAS--If you are looking to upgrade your existing computer to support 802.11ac, without having to get a new computer entirely, here's something to look forward to.

Trendnet announced today at CES 2013 its first USB 3.0 802.11ac W-Fi adapter, the AC1200 Dual Band Wireless USB 3.0 adapter, model TEW-805UB.

This adapter card supports the dual-stream setup Wi-Fi standard and offers the cap speed of up to 867Mbps, when used with a 802.11ac router. It also works with existing Wireless-N routers and offers up to 300Mbps data rate in this case.

The new adapter … Read more

LAS VEGAS--If you're tired of the router-modem combo device provided by your ISP, here's an alternative.

Netgear today unveiled at CES 2013 the first 802.11ac router in the States that also has a built-in ADSL2+ modem, the Netgear D6200 Wi-Fi DSL Modem Router. This router can be used directly with a DSL service without the need for a separate modem.

Personally, I generally am not a fan of combo devices, especially those provided by your ISP, but mostly because their router portion tends to be inferior to most existing routers on the market. The Netgear D6200 is … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Netgear showed off today at CES 2013 the latest in its line of NeoTV streaming players, the NeoTV Prime with Google TV (model GTV100).

The new player offers everything that previous players offered, plus the ability to run apps from Google Play. The player allows you to access a large pool of entertainment including movies, TV shows, and music from major streaming services such as Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Instant Video, HBO Go, Crackle, Flixter, Rhapsody, Pandora, and more. Google Play also gives you movies and new releases in HD, music albums, and apps designed specifically for the TV.

The … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Netgear's NeoTV player's feature list just went up a notch today.

Netgear announced at CES 2013 that it has added Sling Media's SlingPlayer to its line of NeoTV players: the NeoTV (NTV300), NeoTV Pro (NTV300S), the NeoTV Max (NTV300SL), and the just-announced NeoTV Prime with Google TV (GTV100).

The addition of the SlingPlayer means that now those with a Slingbox can use the NeoTV as a set-top box for streaming live TV shows, sporting events, recorded programming, and even movies on any TV via the Internet. It also means you can extend TV viewing to a … Read more

LAS VEGAS--If you're not so happy with Cisco's first 802.11ac router, the Linksys EA6500, there are now more options.

The networking vendors announced today at CES 2013 three more routers that all support 802.11ac. All of them belong to the same Linksys Smart Wi-Fi router series and share similar features as well as physical design as the Linksys EA6500. These new routers include:

Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router AC 1750 HD Video Pro, EA6700: This is now the new top-notch Smart Wi-Fi Router in the Linksys portfolio. The AC1750 is designed for homes with 10 or more … Read more