What I saw recently in my hostel unit was the router-liked thingy, I don’t think it’s a router, maybe a wireless bridge, or wifi extender or I don’t know. There’s no power cable, just a ethernet cable connected into it.

To my exitement, I thought the Internet is here. But I couldn’t find any open network. Sucks. It just not broadcasting.

Lousy service by Taylor’s University Hostel Management but this thing seems cool. I am so geeky. There’s no button on it, just LED and some output for antenna

Belkin has been famous in the router and modem for quite some time already and recently they have release a new lineup for their router, bring ing the new 802.11n to home and a redesigned of their modem.

With the new line up, they promote the idea of “Surf, Share and Play” at the same time, running on a simultaneous dual-band wireless N and the Play Max Routers deliver the best speed and performance for streaming HD Videos.

It also features Easy Start and Self-Healing which is for those who are not tech-conscious to go online and keep them surfing. So it’s good for your grandma or grandpa too. Another feature is there’s app built into the router like Print Genie, Music Movier and Daily DJ which utilized the USB ports and your external hard drive.

For torrent freak, there’s Torrent Genie which keep your file torrenting even if your computer is not switch on, it will just download into your external HDD which connected into the router.

These routers will be available starting mid July 2010. Pricing will be announced soon.

Check out full press release after the break.

IMO, routers are very important for home. Do not just get something cheap and can be used for yourself, get something good. I am running on wireless G and N network at the same time and soon will convert everything into N.

PRESS RELEASE

Belkin Presents a New Way of Thinking with the Introduction of Apps in New 802.11n Wireless Router Line

• Wireless routers feature Easy Start and Self-Healing to get people online and keep them surfing

• Innovative apps such as Print Genie, Music Mover™, and Daily DJ™ let them easily do the activities they want to do

• Simultaneous Dual-Band N Play and Play Max Routers deliver the best speed and performance for streaming HD videos

Kuala Lumpur, June 22, 2010 – With the explosion of online multimedia content, people are looking for new and richer experiences with their photos, music, and videos. Belkin’s new wireless routers are set to enable them to do so. Featuring fun and powerful applications, the Basic, Surf, Share and Play Max Wireless Routers enable them to play music, games, and HD videos as well as share photos and print wirelessly from anywhere in their home.

In a recent IDC survey, 72% of respondents own a digital still camera and use it often, so we can expect that more people will want to share their photos and videos in more places. According to Forrester, the digital music market in the US has grown to more than $3 billion. The Wall Street Journal reported that almost 1 million homes in 2008 eliminated their cable TV to rely solely on the Internet for video entertainment. In recognizing these burgeoning needs, Belkin aims to create richer multimedia experiences to empower people to do the activities they want.

With apps designed to enhance their wireless experience, Belkin’s new line of routers are easy to set up and maintain. The Self-Healing app automatically detects and resolves network problems and runs routine maintenance scans to give the clearest wireless channel.

The Share and Play Max Routers offer the Print Genie app allows wireless printing from any computer on the home network, while Memory Safe™ automatically backs up photos and files to an external hard drive (sold separately)—so people can rest assured that precious memories are protected.

With advanced Dual-Band N technology, Belkin’s Play Max Routers provide the best speed and performance. Simultaneous networks eliminate interference and allow optimal performance for media-intensive activities, such as streaming HD movies, gaming online, and downloading large media files.

Apps on Play Max let people to do more with their music. Music Mover can play their entire music library on smart devices, like the Xbox^® or PS3™, making their music just a touch away. The Daily DJ app serves up daily personalized playlists to match moods. By analyzing the musical DNA of a collection, Daily DJ creates playlists around three mood mixes: High-Energy, Steady Groove, and Kick Back. Playlists can also be created by choosing a song and letting Daily DJ offer a new take on their favorite music.

AVAILABILITY

Products will be available in all major IT stores starting mid July 2010.

QUOTES

Kurt Scherf, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Parks Associates:

“Belkin’s approach to studying user experiences and how people are interacting with their digital content is evident in how they’ve designed their new wireless routers. Features such as Easy Setup and its Music Mover app help people do the activities they want to do, and Belkin is communicating these benefits in a simple way such that people can understand.”

Jim Wagner, General Manager at Belkin:

“The explosion of digital content is heralding new opportunities, and this in itself is exciting. Using our consumer insight research, we learned that people want to do more with their photos, music, and videos throughout their home and across their network. Further, we found that while people had high aspirations for their network and media, unfortunately they were not buying routers capable of giving them the best of those experiences.

“With that in mind, we created a line of wireless routers based around the activities people want to do most. We made our Surf, Share, and Play Routers powerful enough to give great networking experiences, and we added easy-to-use apps to enable these activities. Now, even the most novice of consumer can create great experiences in their home and across their network.”

I only know the the open Wifi network in my school is at the Canteen, Form 6 Block and School Hall. This “25″ is new and I manage to get onto the Internet with my iPod touch during classes few weeks ago but it’s not working right now. The “25″ is still showing on my list but the Internet connection doesn’t work already.

I tried login into their router homepage to check out the Internet connection status. They didn’t really change their default username and password so it’s pretty easy to guess, it’s either “admin” or “password”.

First I managed to login into this at, I check out their wireless status and Internet status, it’s all up but the in router SSID is showing “Art Room” instead of “25″ which I read from my iPod. One thing very weird is the Art Room is so far away from my classroom, so I assume the wireless connection is bridged from there.

Then the connection disconnected and the IP changed. Something is wrong with either the school wireless network or my iPod’s connection. I login into another router homepage at 192.168.1.1 and I got a Linksys router homepage. The same thing, everything shows the Internet is up but then the SSID is different again, it’s “Server Room”. I got no idea where the school’s Server Room is but the connection just keep jumping around. From Art Room to Server Room and once I got Resource Room which is just down the corridor of floor.

They should fix their wireless connection already. With all the set up ready, but a weird bridging wireless network, it’s still not a fully Wifi school yet, there’s still a lot of blind spot. However, I believe there’s still school with no Wifi network. =)