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Can you point me to these competing routers you're talking about? The one Ars used in their review, the Asus RT-68U is priced[0] the same as OnHub. The main p

by kyrra 11y ago

Can you point me to these competing routers you're talking about? The one Ars used in their review, the Asus RT-68U is priced[0] the same as OnHub. The main pieces I see that the Asus router has is a web interface and more LAN ports, but nothing else you list. If you look at OnHub, it has a lot of little hardware components that aren't active yet. The light sensor and a 802.15.4 sensor. I don't see OnHub being priced that far away from competing wireless routers (for 3x3 antenna with 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac support). My guess is the routers you're talking about don't have AC or 5GHz support, both of which seems to add a lot of cost to wireless routers. [0] http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320174 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320...

kuschku 11y ago
The one I am talking about has both of that, costs 219$, has integration with a whole ecosystem of smart home devices, has -AC (1.3GHz), 5GHz support, DSL vectoring, can be used as proxy endpoint, all that nice stuff. http://en.avm.de/products/fritzbox/fritzbox-7490/ http://en.avm.de/products/fritzbox/fritzbox-7490/ http://www.amazon.de/AVM-FRITZ-Router-DECT-Basis-Server/dp/B00EO777DI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441039130&sr=8-1&keywords=FRITZ!Box+7490 http://www.amazon.de/AVM-FRITZ-Router-DECT-Basis-Server/dp/B...
- kyrra 11y ago
  Interesting, thanks for the link. I do wonder why they cost the same as other popular router companies for a lot more built in functionality. Either they are able to do a lot in software, they are using cheaper components, or they are pricing so their profits aren't as high so they can get some market traction.
  - kuschku 11y ago
    Well, they are the largest router vendor in Germany, and almost every ISP here gives out their routers by default (that’s how I got my 7490). They don’t really care much about growth or profits – as long as they don’t make losses, their current situation is "good enough", and that’s it.
- CognitiveLens 11y ago
  The Fritzbox is €219, not $219, and doesn't seem to be available in the US, so the comparison isn't really fair. At $200, there still aren't many obviously-better options, although there are plenty of good ones
  - kuschku 11y ago
    196€ or 219$ on amazon. That’s including shipping. Also available on amazon.co.uk. Yes, it’s not exactly 200$, but it has more features at the same price. Essentially, it was just a statement more like "Google is neither producing something new nor disrupting a market".
lewisl9029 11y ago
The TP-LINK Archer C7 is probably the best deal on AC routers right now. It's half the price of the OnHub and includes more LAN ports, is faster (if the Ars review is to be believed), has a web interface, has NAS features, and has good custom firmware support. https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/32196-tp-link-archer-c7-ac1750-wireless-dual-band-gigabit-router-reviewed?showall=&start=3 https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/32... It doesn't have all the fancy extras that the OnHub has, but if OnHub's wireless performance is in fact as poor as the Ars review suggests, you're probably better off with a traditional router for now and waiting a few generations for Google to work out the issues. I mean, most wireless N routers I've owned could do better than 32 Mbps...

by kyrra 11y ago

kuschku 11y ago

The one I am talking about has both of that, costs 219$, has integration with a whole ecosystem of smart home devices, has -AC (1.3GHz), 5GHz support, DSL vectoring, can be used as proxy endpoint, all that nice stuff. http://en.avm.de/products/fritzbox/fritzbox-7490/ http://en.avm.de/products/fritzbox/fritzbox-7490/ http://www.amazon.de/AVM-FRITZ-Router-DECT-Basis-Server/dp/B00EO777DI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441039130&sr=8-1&keywords=FRITZ!Box+7490 http://www.amazon.de/AVM-FRITZ-Router-DECT-Basis-Server/dp/B...

kyrra 11y ago
Interesting, thanks for the link. I do wonder why they cost the same as other popular router companies for a lot more built in functionality. Either they are able to do a lot in software, they are using cheaper components, or they are pricing so their profits aren't as high so they can get some market traction.
- kuschku 11y ago
  Well, they are the largest router vendor in Germany, and almost every ISP here gives out their routers by default (that’s how I got my 7490). They don’t really care much about growth or profits – as long as they don’t make losses, their current situation is "good enough", and that’s it.
CognitiveLens 11y ago
The Fritzbox is €219, not $219, and doesn't seem to be available in the US, so the comparison isn't really fair. At $200, there still aren't many obviously-better options, although there are plenty of good ones
- kuschku 11y ago
  196€ or 219$ on amazon. That’s including shipping. Also available on amazon.co.uk. Yes, it’s not exactly 200$, but it has more features at the same price. Essentially, it was just a statement more like "Google is neither producing something new nor disrupting a market".

lewisl9029 11y ago

The TP-LINK Archer C7 is probably the best deal on AC routers right now. It's half the price of the OnHub and includes more LAN ports, is faster (if the Ars review is to be believed), has a web interface, has NAS features, and has good custom firmware support. https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/32196-tp-link-archer-c7-ac1750-wireless-dual-band-gigabit-router-reviewed?showall=&start=3 https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/32... It doesn't have all the fancy extras that the OnHub has, but if OnHub's wireless performance is in fact as poor as the Ars review suggests, you're probably better off with a traditional router for now and waiting a few generations for Google to work out the issues. I mean, most wireless N routers I've owned could do better than 32 Mbps...