Dual-Band 802.11n Comes to Linksys

I currently have a Buffalo Technology WZR-AG300NH Dual-Band Router, which can no longer be sold because of a patent lawsuit by CSIRO. I've been looking for alternatives, just in case, and watching D-Link, which hasn't been named in the lawsuit and which has a "coming soon" DIR-855 dual-band router listed on their site.

But Linksys, which didn't pre-announce its router beforehand, has released the Dual-Band WRT-600N, and it joins the Buffalo Technology router as the only simultaneous dual-band routers available. The Apple Airport Extreme Dual-Band router cannot access both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands simultaneously.

Why is a dual-band router better than a Draft-N router which only supports one band (others support the 2.4 GHz band but not the 5 GHz band)? Since 802.11n actually uses two 20 MHz channels bonded together, the additional band adds flexibility. You can connect g-devices to the 2.4 GHz band, for example, and Wireless-a- and -n-devices to the 5 GHz band, or assign certain types of devices to either band. In practical terms, the 5 Ghz band has less chance of interfering with your neighbor's wi-fi in what's called the "bad neighbor" effect ... and the 5 GHz spectrum is less crowded.

As usual with Linksys 802.11n products, the router has 3 antennas, one of which always reminds me of an old radar antenna. Like the Buffalo Technology router, the price of two radios for two bands translates to a higher $ figure. The MSRP of this router is $279.99, but it does include a Storage Link, which means you can add a USB external hard drive for network storage. This router also includes a Gigabit switch, like the Buffalo router.

One thing: lately it seems like Linksys has needed a few revisions of their firmware before a router is "just right." I'd hold off a bit before buying one of these.