If you are like me, you have your wireless router tucked away in a closet, at the top of a shelf or under a desk somewhere. I have one of mine on top of a kitchen hutch because it’s in the center of the house, high up (for better reception) and close to the DSL connection. The other is tucked under my desk. I have placed my wireless routers where they functionally would be better. We don’t think of routers as display pieces, at least I didn’t until Belkin sent me a N1 Vision Wireless router for review.
We all know the saying “Form Follows Function” – essentially that people should worry about how something works before what it looks like. In this case, Belkin, after building a high-speed, functional draft-N router, kept going and wrapped it in a design worthy of front and center placement, not on the top shelf of bookcase somewhere. It looks right at home being at eye-level on a bookcase:
The N1 Vision is a solid entrant in the cluttered wifi router market. It has many of the features required of any wireless router. There are a few notable features which should be called out as they differentiate this router from others in the pack. For one, it has an innovated front panel display that can show a variety of helpful information including connection and bandwidth speeds, what devices are connected, download meters, date and time as well as a handy configuration area where you can set up guest access quickly and easily. Another unique feature is the fact that the user does not need a CD to get the router configured. Belkin calls it the “Plug-and-Play CD-less setup”. Lastly, the distinct upright display allows for easy placement on smaller shelves or thin spaces.
The N1 Vision specification are fairly typical for draft N routers. Below are the specs: [click to continue…]
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