2014 might just be hailed as the “Year of the Smart Router.” But what exactly are the technical and market challenges facing a humble smart router? The author will answer these questions one by one.
Some say it’s about conquering the living room, seizing the entry point, a stroke of innovation by Chinese companies鈥攁 miracle device. Many companies are now setting their sights on routers, including those mentioned earlier. I think it’s a viable path, but compared to traditional routers, do they really have an advantage?
First, the Issue of Signal Strength
A router’s communication distance, or signal strength, is determined by its 2.4GHz signal power. As distance increases, signal strength continually attenuates, though not linearly. To achieve longer range, you can boost transmission power or increase antenna gain. Both methods increase electromagnetic radiation. While the State Radio Regulatory Commission has strict controls over this, if a consumer-grade home router blindly pursues range, it invisibly creates danger. May a 20-year-old maiden never be blasted into a menopausal matron by so-called “wall-penetrating champions.”
Built-in Battery
For a household, how likely is a power outage? Everyone can see that clearly. A built-in battery only adds cost, turning an advantage into a disadvantage. Besides, a router is a device with severe heat dissipation issues. Even more frightening is that routers are usually placed out of sight, often in very cramped spaces. Without a robust buffer circuit for protection, just wait for the explosion.
Ease of Setup
Some say existing router setups are too complex. If you are just looking to get online, I believe it’s still quite simple. If a router is made to be more than just a router, of course it gets complex. But the average household won’t use those features; they’re almost meaningless. How many people still pay for someone to install an OS for them these days? Think about it鈥攖he same logic applies to routers.
Anti-Piggybacking
This really refers to the 802.11b/g encryption methods. For this protocol’s encryption, if you use AES, I believe there’s no way to piggyback on your network. So this advantage is just fooling novices. Even if a master hacker could crack your password, I doubt they would bother. With those skills and that time, they’d have already made who knows how much money.
Plugins
I wonder if everyone is familiar with DD-WRT or Tomato Dual WAN. These are third-party open-source firmware supporting a large number of routers. They emerged because routers have powerful hardware capabilities. If it’s just functioning as a router, many features are unnecessary. Of course, a router can be expanded into other devices, like a remote controller, controller, hub, etc. But I figure if you’re a novice, you won’t even know these things exist. If you’re not a novice, you wouldn’t spend money on a router with these features anyway. So plugins? Pretty useless鈥攋ust a gimmick.
No Lag
For browsing the internet, with today’s network bandwidth commonly at