Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems, Inc., the recognized leading provider of VoIP, wireless and networking hardware for the consumer, Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) and small business markets, today announced it has earned all three Editors’ Choice awards for wireless routers in the June 7, 2005 issue of PC Magazine. The Wireless-G Router (WRT54G), Wireless-G Router with SpeedBooster (WRT54GS), and Wireless-G Router with SRX (WRT54GX) each earned the popular technology publication’s most prestigious designation.
With the multitude of wireless networking products available on the market, PC Magazine divided its annual wireless router roundup testing into three categories – Fast, Faster, and Fastest. Linksys is the only company to achieve an Editors’ Choice in all of the three. Routers from D-Link, Netgear, Buffalo, and Belkin were included in the roundup.
“When conducting these tests, we were looking to determine the best overall offering, and in each case, the Linksys product was the most complete solution,” said Craig Ellison, director of operations, PC Magazine Labs. “Each time, the high performance, ease of use and added features, like parental control, gave Linksys the advantage.”
Fast: Wireless-G Router (WRT54G)
Products evaluated in the “Fast” category were based on 802.11g standards with no enhancements made to improve performance. Top honors in this category were awarded to the Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router, with its “great interface, excellent security, and plenty of extra configuration features” setting the bar for competitors. Enhanced 802.11g products were critiqued in the “Faster” category. This group’s highest praise was focused on the Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster. Continuous compatibility with standard 802.11b/g products and “extremely powerful and versatile” parental control features were key differentiators for the product. In the “Fastest” high-performance category, MIMO (multiple input, multiple output)-based products were evaluated. Carrying the Linksys flag in this group was the Wireless-G Broadband Router with SRX. Its combination of “smooth out- of-the-box experience and impressive performance and security tools” allowed the product to complete the sweep of all categories by Linksys.
“Earning all of the available PC Magazine Editors’ Choice awards is a special achievement for Linksys because it demonstrates that we are bringing our customers the best technology, whatever their needs may be,” said Victor Tsao, senior vice president and general manager, Linksys. “As we continue to develop new lines for both the home and business, we can move forward with confidence knowing that our expertise is shining through in the products.”