Top five routers: 802.11ac ushered in
CNET editor Dong Ngo picks his latest favorites among networking products.
It was clear from CES that 2012 is going to be a year of many changes in home networking. To help you keep up with these changes, here's our list of the top five networking products currently available. This time around, the list includes the very first 802.11ac router on the market.
This top-five list will be updated on a regular basis. This means if you don't see your favorite router or brand on the list, don't be discouraged, you might see it next time. This also means that the products mentioned here won't necessarily be the top five of 2012, which we'll determine at the end of the year.
Without further ado, these are our current top picks for networking devices as of the end of May. This list is sorted by the review date, starting with the most recently reviewed.
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Dong Ngo/CNET)
Buffalo AirStation AC1300 / N900 Gigabit Dual Band Wireless Router WZR-D1800H
Don't let the crazily long name distract you; the WZR-D1800H is a totally new breed of wireless router. It's the very first one on the market that supports the latest 802.11ac (aka 5G Wi-Fi) standard. On top of that it also supports Wi-Fi clients that use any previous Wi-Fi standard, be it 802.11n/g/a or /b.
The 5G Wi-Fi support aside, this router also offers true dual-band Wireless-N, with each band being able to provide up to 450Mbps of bandwidth. That said, if you don't have any 802.11ac clients at home, which is likely the case since there was only one on the market at the time of this review, you can still enjoy its performance, just as you would with a Wireless-N router.
The best thing about the Buffalo is the pricing: it costs about the same as a regular high-end 802.11n router. It's not perfect, since I found that its performance on the 2.4GHz band was subpar. But for the most part, it's an exciting router. Read the full review of the Buffalo AirStation WZR-D1800H.
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Dong Ngo/CNET)
The Verizon Jetpack 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi 4620L by Novatel Wireless is the latest mobile hot-spot router on the market and arguably the best, all things considered. It's the first mobile router I've seen that comes with two batteries that offer a combined continuous usage time of up to 16 hours. With casual or sporadic use, you can go a few days or even a week without having to charge it. On top of that, the router has many features and a great design. It also costs just around $50 if you're willing to sign up for a two-year contract.
The only downside of the router is the limited and expensive data plans that Verizon offers with it (as well as other 3G/4G mobile routers) that cost $50 a month and $80 a month with data caps of 5GB and 10GB, respectively. If you can live with that, the MiFi 4620L will make a great mobile companion, especially when you're not traveling alone, since it can host up to 10 Wi-Fi clients at a time. Read the full review of the Verizon Jetpack 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi 4620L by Novatel Wireless.
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Dong Ngo/CNET)
Asus RT-N66U Dark Knight Double 450Mbps N Router
The Asus RT-N66U is a great upgrade to the already excellent RT-N56U. Its review was much delayed because of initial buggy firmware, but it was worth the wait. The new router supports the 450Mbps speed on both the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz bands, with top performance on the 5GHz band. Its two USB ports can be used with more than just external hard drives and printers.
The router boasts a very robust Web interface and comes with a large number of features. For example, it supports up to six guest networks (three on each band) and even has a built-in VPN server. For this reason, it's an excellent choice for both home and small-office environments. Read the full review of the Asus RT-N66U.
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Dong Ngo/CNET)
Clear Spot Voyager
The Clear Spot Voyager is a mobile hot-spot router that provides very fast 4G Internet access to up to eight Wi-Fi devices. It also comes with affordable and unlimited data plans and has good battery life. It's not for everyone, however, since it only supports Clear's 4G network, meaning it's useless when out of the coverage area. Make sure you live and travel within Clear's 4G coverage before purchasing.
The reason it's on this list: other than the fact that it's very fast and functional, it's also supercute and compact. Read the full review of the Clear Spot Voyager.
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Dong Ngo/CNET)
D-Link Amplifi HD Media Router 2000 DIR-827
The D-Link DIR-827 is the latest true dual-band Gigabit router with very good performance and a nice set of features. It's on this list because it's the first router that supports USB 3.0, and it also comes with a customized QoS-based feature called HD Fuel that automatically prioritizes Internet bandwidth for gaming, VoIP apps, and HD streaming. Read the full review of the D-Link DIR-827.
Looking for specs and pricing? Compare these routers head-to-head.
Editors' note: This post was originally published February 21, 2012, and was last updated on May 24, 2012, with the latest worthy devices added to the top-five list. Other devices that have been on our list so far this year are the Cisco Linksys E4200 v2, the Belkin Advance N900 DB Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router, the Amped Wireless R10000G, and the Asus RT-N56U. While no longer in the top five, these are still among the best in their respective categories.
