When Belkin ships new lines of wireless routers (including Belkin Surf, Belkin Share, Belkin Play, and Belkin Max Play) with the final version of 802.11n standards with the speeds of up to 300 Mbps and so does Linksys with it’s new E-Series wireless –n routers (including E-1000, E-2000/L, and E-3000), TRENDnet is shipping new Wireless –n Gigabit router TEW-691GR with the speeds of up to 450 Mbps. It is claimed to be the first fastest wireless n router in its class.

The Wi-Fi Alliance said that the final version of the 802.11n Wi-Fi standard should effectively remain the same as it is in the Draft 2.0 spec. The Wi-Fi Alliance is a trade group that owns the trademark Wi-Fi and owns and controls the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo, a registered trademark, which is permitted only on equipment which has passed testing.

TRENDnet redefines wireless router performance to the speed of up to 450 Mbps on TEW-961GR model to seamlessly streams HD media to your entertainment center, transfers content from countless users, and generates record wireless coverage.

The following list main features of this TEW-691GR TRENDnet 450 Mbps Wireless –n router:

• Combines the power of final version of 802.11n wireless standards and MIMO technology to provide the speed up to 450 Mbps and longer distance and backward compatible with legacy 802.11b/g clients.

• Powered by Gigabit Ethernet both for LAN and WAN ports for high performance wired connections

• Suitable for streaming HD video, files download, talk online, and playing games all at the same time

• WMM® Quality of Service (QoS) technology to prioritize gaming, Internet calls, and video streams. See also the best wireless gaming router – how to choose

• Easy wireless connection for the computers with one-touch Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)

• An Energy Star certified power adapter and embedded GREENnet technology reduce power consumption.

• Dual firewall NAT and SPI protection. Network Address Translation (NAT) to hide your private network and Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) to filter the inbound traffic thoroughly

• Multiple pass-through sessions for popular VPN applications (IPSec, L2TP, and PPTP) to allow you create tunneling to the private network during business traveling securely

• Complete wireless security with WPA/WPA2-RADIUS, WPA /WPA2-PSK, and WEP

Configuration and Connection

Like other wireless routers, you need to connect the WAN port of the router to the LAN / Ethernet port of the modem (Cable or ADSL). To configure the router via your web browser, you can type the default IP address of TEW-691GR in your browser http://192.168.10.1 and press Enter. Logon windows will be prompt to allow you type the default user-name "admin" and the default password is blank.

Comparison with Belkin and Linksys

The TRENDnet TEW-691GR is new wireless –n router with the final version of 802.11n wireless standards like other Linksys E-Series and Belkin new Routers. The final version of the wireless n standards with MIMO technology can deliver the speeds of up to 300 Mbps. But TEW-691GR boost the speed up to 450 Mbps – off course in ideal conditions. The following lists major different between TEW-691GR, Belkin Max Play (the advanced version of new Belkin routers), and Linksys E-3000 (the advanced version of E-Series) wireless router.

Wireless Maximum Speed (ideal conditions)

Both Linksys E-series and new Belkin wireless routers can deliver the speeds up to 300 Mbps. But TEW-691GR can boost the speed up to 450 Mbps. Off courses this is in the ideal conditions, the actual speed may vary.

Frequency Band

Both Linksys E-3000 and Belkin Max Play wireless routers are powered by simultaneous dual-band technology (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz). While TRENDnet TEW-691GR supports single 2.4 GHz band.

USB Support

Linksys E-3000 wireless routers is equipped with the USB port to support UPnP AV media server. Belkin Max Play (and other Belkin Share and Belkin Play) supports USB port for printer sharing with Belkin Print Genie technology. But TEW-691GR is not equipped with the USB port. All the three wireless routers support Gigabit Ethernet for their 4-port LAN Switch.

Wireless Antenna

Linksys E-3000 is powered by 6 internal antenna for larger range. Belkin Max Play is powered by dual-plane antenna. TEW-691GR is powered by three external antenna.

TRENDnet TEW 691gr Wireless N Gigabit Router is a new line of TRENDnet wireless –n (final version of 802.11n standards) router with high speed of up to 450 Mbps which will boost the speed of your network.

By Ki Grinsing