Friday, August 2nd 2013

BearExtender Announces New 802.11ac and 802.11n Wi-Fi Solutions for Macs

BearExtender, the leader in long range Wi-Fi solutions for Apple Macintosh computers, announced today the availability of two new Wi-Fi products for Macs.

BearExtender 1200 is a high-powered 1200 mW receiver for the long-range 2.4 GHz 802.11n band, available for pre-order today (ships August 15). It features up to 70% more power than the original BearExtender, an upgraded high gain 5 dBi antenna and a new high sensitivity receiver.

BearExtender Turbo is a high-speed 802.11ac receiver shipping in October. It features a maximum throughput speed of 867 Mbps that is up to three times faster than modern 802.11n equipped Macs. It also features USB 3.0 connectivity, OS X Mavericks compatibility and dual upgradable antennas.
"After the success of our first BearExtender (2009) and BearExtender Mini (2012), both which received 4 out of 5 Mice ratings from MacWorld Magazine, we knew we had to deliver even more range for BearExtender 1200," said Roland Saekow, head of product development at BearExtender.

Based on third generation BearExtender technology, BearExtender 1200 has 70% more power than the original 2009 BearExtender, but still has the same low price that made the original version popular with students, members of US armed forces stationed abroad, and Mac users worldwide.

BearExtender 1200 continues the company's commitment to innovation of the long range 2.4 Ghz Wi-Fi band, which is more commonly used in residential areas, campuses, and travel destinations like hotels.

Higher frequencies such as the 5 Ghz band can offer faster speeds but have significantly shorter range due to the physical properties of 5 Ghz waves. Higher frequencies do not penetrate well through solid objects like walls.

In October, BearExtender Turbo will bring 802.11ac compatibility to the Mac operating system, with throughput speeds of up to 867 Mbps on the 5 Ghz band.

"BearExtender Turbo is a dual band (2.4 & 5 GHz) 802.11ac receiver with a focus on throughput speed," added Saekow. "Our purpose in keeping BearExtender 1200 on the 2.4 GHz 802.11n band is to achieve the longest possible range on the most commonly used Wi-Fi band today while with BearExtender Turbo we are focused on offering extreme 802.11ac speeds to any Mac owner looking to upgrade."

Drivers for the upcoming OS X 10.9 Mavericks are currently under development for all BearExtender models and will be released as a free software update.

Pricing and Availability

BearExtender 1200 is just $49.97 and is available for pre-order starting today, August 1st at www.BearExtender.com (ships August 15th).

BearExtender 1200 will be available for purchase in Canada and Europe in late August through official BearExtender distributors.

BearExtender Turbo will be available in October. Pricing will be announced in September.
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1 Comment on BearExtender Announces New 802.11ac and 802.11n Wi-Fi Solutions for Macs

#1
xvi
I'm pretty sure that "For Macs" means "It's white".

Also, high gain antennas achieve their high gain by modifying their radiation pattern. Any gain (no pun intended) in signal strength just means it's sacrificing it somewhere else.

Also, 2.4 is generally rather heavily congested. 5.8, despite it's intolerance to physical obstruction, can sometimes be more reliable than 2.4 due to the reduced noise.
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Apr 19th, 2024 10:14 EDT change timezone

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