Latest Netgear router looks round corners

Netgear has unveiled a wireless networking technology dubbed RangeMax, which it claims can increase Wi-Fi data speeds by up to 2,500 per cent.

The system allows a wireless router to aim its signal at a specific point. Using seven antennas, the device will transmit a signal in 127 different directions.

Newly developed software tracks these directions and achieves the optimal data speeds by avoiding obstacles such as people, furniture and walls.

The software also allows the router to target the signal at a single area instead of blanketing its entire surroundings.

"It learns what direction in the house to make the best use of," product manager Vivek Pathela told vnunet.com.

RangeMax equipped routers will enable streaming of video content over a Wi-Fi connection, said Pathela, claiming that RangeMax can achieve speeds of 25Mbps when transmitting through walls, where current offerings don't get beyond 1Mbps.

Pathela added that RangeMax will deliver up to a four-fold speed increase over current solutions when covering a distance of three metres with direct line of sight.

A first wireless router using the technology will be launched some time this quarter. The device will cost about $150 in the US, Pathela said.