Linksys debuts dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi gear

Linksys on Tuesday announced the first dual-band Wi-Fi devices. Rather than operate two frequencies one at a time to accommodate different wireless standards, the WRT600N router and WPC600N PC Card adapter can run both at once: a standard 2.4GHz frequency handles typical 802.11a, b, g, or n devices, while a 5GHz transmitter operates on 802.11n for devices that are particularly susceptible to interference, such as computers used for gaming or streaming video to a media hub. The dual-band approach lets users effectively reserve a high-bandwidth, low-latency connection for their most important devices, according to Linksys.

The WRT600N includes a USB 2.0 port for network-attached storage and four gigabit Ethernet jacks to attach wired devices at full speed. It ships now for $280 and will be followed at the same time by the WPC600N adapter for $100. ExpressCard and USB equivalent adapters should be ready in early 2008 but will be launched later.