It uses Airgo Network’s third generation “True MIMO” chipset that boasts a top raw speed of 240Mbps. The new speed is achieved using Airgo’s Adaptive Channel Expansion technology (ACE) that the company says uses a “neighbor friendly” 40 MHz channel.
We found that the product’s maximum speed was indeed impressive, topping 100Mbps under the right conditions. But we also saw behavior that does not bode well for use with mixed WLANs and, contrary to Airgo’s claims, that won’t be particularly welcome by wireless neighbors.
On the plus side, Airgo’s ACE technology [Adaptive Channel Expansion] really does deliver (just barely) over 100Mbps of real, usable throughput. And while it didn’t connect in all of my test locations with its default settings, a simple setting change provided over 20Mbps of average throughput in my toughest test location. Truly impressive!Regardless of the recent peace-making among the warring 802.11n factions that resulted the first 802.11n draft spec, 802.11n still has a long road to travel before it’s fully-baked. I hope that some of the compatibility and interference issues that I’ve described will be addressed in the final spec. But if history serves, I suspect the focus will be more on maximizing 11n performance, leaving consumers with little choice but to upgrade when 11n gear moves into the neighborhood.
The Linksys WRT54GX4 Wireless-G Broadband Router with SRX400 and the Linksys WPC54GX4 Wireless-G PC Card with SRX400 also use the new Airgo Chips.
The 802.11n standard promises backwards compability with slower speed WiFi but can gang channels together and utilizes multiple input/output (MIMO) antennas to produce a data transfer rates up to 600 Mbit/s. Today’s 802.11 networks can achieve maximum speeds of 54 Mbit/s, although significantly less in the real world. There’s no need to rush into 802.11n says Gardner.
The IEEE unanimously approved a draft version of 802.11n last week, but that standard is different than the one Airgos currently uses in today’s hardware. Broadcom has already announced its “Intensi-fi” chipsets, Atheros’ next-generation XSPAN and Marvell has it’s 88W836X family. They all claim to follow the new “draft” standard of 802.11n. But final ratification of 802.11n may be a year away and alot can happen in that time. Any gear bought today cannot guarantee compatibility with the final high speed WiFi standard, say industry observers.
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