Netgear's boosted the speed of its next-generation Draft-N router, but support for legacy kit isn't what it should be.
The RangeMax Next Router is a white miniskyscraper, devoid of any external antennae, that sits vertically in a cradle. The USB client device is about 40 percent larger than a credit card and white, like the router.
It took about 20 minutes to install Netgear's Next Router using the on-screen install guide. There are only four steps involved, but Netgear is meticulous in explaining each and every part of those steps. If you get something wrong, it's probably because you haven't followed along closely.
Our only problem with the installation was that the Netgear equipment wanted to see an existing network/Internet connection before it started the router installation, which seemed counterintuitive for a first-time install. The installation process will not continue until you have such a connection, so just connect your computer to your modem to get around it.
Netgear clients behaved better with Netgear's router, especially the closer they were to the device. In our poor-traffic zone, the transfer rate ranged from 81 Mbit/s to 108 Mbit/s. Our 921MB sample file flew through the air in seven minutes and three seconds. Streaming MPG files were no problem, and jumping around the video's timeline produced no real lag. Overall, Netgear's PC Card adapter consistently provided stronger signal levels and faster noted connection speeds than its USB adapter.
Installation was more difficult than it needed to be, it had mixed results with legacy equipment, and transfer speeds weren't quite up to par with the other equipment.