Today, Linksys announced its newest WiFi router, the Velop. What is Velop? It’s the next generation of whole home or mesh WiFi router systems, like Eero or Google WiFi. Velop differs a bit in that While the basics are the same in that Velop allows you to expand your network to all corners of your home, Linksys is trying to be as fully-featured here as possible, calling Velop the “first Tri-Band modular Wi-Fi system.”
Velop is capable of acting as a router, range extender, access point, and bridge, all of which is configured via Android or iOS app. Features within the app include guest access, parental controls, device prioritization, etc. You can even control some aspects of Velop through with Amazon’s Alexa.
Also, Linksys is pushing Velop as one of the first systems to make use of your full internet connection, thanks to its Tri-Band powers. In other words, if you are paying for 100Mbps down, Velop should deliver it everywhere in your house. To clearly explain that and the rest of the features Velop allows, below you’ll find an excerpt on the technology from the press release:
- Velop Hardware – Velop uses a highly integrated System on a Chip from Qualcomm, the first of its kind that incorporates a 716 MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor, three Wi-Fi radios (one 2.4 GHz and two 5.0 GHz) and two auto sensing LAN/WAN Gigabit ports. This is complemented by 4GB of flash memory, 512MB DDR3 memory and a Bluetooth 4.0/LE radio. Velop contains six antennas and high power amplifiers.
- Dynamic Tri-Band – Each Velop node is a Tri-Band AC 2×2 802.11ac Wave 2 with MU-MIMO radio configuration with combined speed up to 2200 Mbps*. This technical design provides faster speeds at the edge of the network by using algorithms to achieve optimal path calculations. This eliminates the bottlenecking effort that is present with traditional router and range extender combinations as well as dual-band modular Wi-Fi systems.
- True Modular Mesh Design – Each node is built to connect with each other over Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet if present. They auto configure to connect in multiple different mesh topologies. The nodes have the ability to choose the best path to route data between a client and the Internet. In the event any node loses connection to another node, the remaining nodes will self-heal and re-establish Internet connection through other nodes in the network
- Dynamic Channel Selection – Velop will dynamically scan the available channels and select the best combination of bands and channels to optimize performance at the time of setup or whenever the user chooses. The Linksys app has a channel finder feature with will automatically find the best channels on demand and resolve congestion and interference issues that can created by competing Wi-Fi signals.
- App-Led Setup – The new Linksys app (formally known as the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi app) automatically identifies the nodes to be setup using Bluetooth and creates a secure connection between the mobile device and each node. The app guides users through the installation process using visual animations where needed to clearly explain each step, including the uninstallation of current networking hardware.
- Patented-Pending Spot Finder Technology – The placement of each node is critical to have a reliable connection. During setup, Velop will recommend the best placement to reduce latency, maximize throughput and improve range and signal strength.
- Velop works with Amazon Alexa – Velop launches with custom Amazon Alexa “skills” that can turn guest network on/off and request credentials of both the main and guest networks; these are read back to the user by Alexa.
- Seamless Wi-Fi Experience – Velop supports one network name & password, one admin login, one interface for management and monitoring; and one guest network for the whole home. As a result, mobile devices, such as iPhones and laptops, will roam seamlessly and reliably from node-to-node without interruption.
- Airtime Prioritization – Airtime Prioritization enables faster devices to transmit at faster speeds while the slower device will not impede the speed of Wi-Fi network
- Automatic Updates – Velop is connected to a cloud service that will automatically monitor the status of firmware and update accordingly for security and performance. The combination of firmware and app updates will continue to unlock new features and improve performance over time. Some Whole Home Wi-Fi systems require manual firmware updates making them vulnerable to security infringements. Users have the option to turn automatic update off.
- Futureproofing – Velop hardware being a Tri-Band MU-MIMO router will be relevant technology for years to come and has features that will continue to delight users as it becomes enabled with new applications and services, all without any actions required by the customer.
Velop might be the most powerful mesh system yet, but as you can imagine, that means it comes at a steeper price that some of its competitors. A 1-pack will cost you $199 at a promotional launch price, while a 2-pack runs $349 and a 3-pack will set you back $499.
To learn more about Velop or buy it today, head over to the Linksys site.
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Via: Linksys
This post was last modified on January 3, 2017 11:17 am