Wireless Goods Focus On A/V Support, Surveillance Features

Netgear plans to unveil a Super Wireless Media Router that will be priced at less than $200 and be available during the first quarter. The new router, dubbed the GT634U, can save and retrieve a variety of media content off the home network through a connection to an external USB disk drive, said Vivek Pathela, director of product marketing and management for Netgear's consumer products division, Santa Clara, Calif.

"This is a new class of wireless router, and we're making it dramatically easy to use," Pathela said. "It features expanded coverage so one router is capable of providing coverage for a 5,000-square-foot house."

Main features of the router include application-level access, 802.11b/g compliancy with speeds up to 100 Mbps and remote access. The router can function as a portal from anywhere inside or outside the house to a home network.

Pathela said Netgear also plans to introduce at CES a digital music player carrying a price tag of $149 to $200, with additional products for the home market planned throughout 2004.

D-Link Systems, meanwhile, is set to roll out wired/wireless multimedia receivers and devices coupled with high-speed wireless networking features.

Daniel Kelley, director of marketing at Fountain Valley, Calif.-based D-Link, said the company plans a new version of its wireless Internet camera, the DCS-5300W, as well as a wired edition, the DCS-5300.

Key improvements to the line include a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor designed to provide better-quality images that can be captured using less light than previous products.

"These Internet security cameras are usually used for security, so that's obviously a key feature," Kelley said.

The camera includes pan-and-tilt features so users can, for example, scan from the back door to the kitchen from a remote Web browser, and it can be plugged directly into a VCR or television. The suggested retail price will be $549 for the DCS-5300W and $499 for the DCS-5300.

Buffalo Technology, Linksys and SMC Networks are also among vendors with strong SMB and SOHO presences that are expected to showcase wireless home networking products at CES.

Angie Wong, CEO of Fremont, Calif.-based Network Designs Integration Services and Ojo Technologies, both solution providers, said her focus in 2004 is to build specialization in the wireless market, with a particular emphasis on wireless video surveillance solutions.

"We are still targeting the small to medium businesses, but we do have customers [for the wireless solutions], especially the employees of some of our corporate clients," said Wong. "There's just a lot of interest in the products that stream audio and video from their PCs."