CES 2015: Linksys wants everyone to afford its classic blue-and-black router

By Kane Fulton

Belkin-owned Linksys has used CES 2015 to announce a more affordable version of last year’s WRT1900AC router, which was an updated version of the company’s recognisable blue-and-black model from 2002.

While something of a beast, the WRT1900AC’s $250 price tag placed it beyond the reach of many home and small business users.

The new WRT1200 wireless dual band router packs slightly less of a punch, featuring two (removable, and thus upgradeable) external antennas, rather than four, and is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core ARM processor.

It supports up to 400Mbps using 802.11n on the 2.4GHz band and up to 687 Mbps using 802.11ac on the 5GHz band. Its pricier sibling can reach up to 600Mbps and 1.3Gbps on the respective bands.

Other features include eSATA/USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, four gigabit networking ports and one Gigabit WAN port. Linksys is making the core for the WRT1200AC open source when the router launches in April.

The WRT1200 will cost €179.99 ($179.99) when it goes on sale in April. No word on UK pricing just yet.

• The WRT1200 is (more) affordable, but is it one of our top 10 routers?

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Source: techradar.com – Computing Components