GIGABYTE unveiled the first mini-ITX motherboard based on Intel's upcoming Z87 Express chipset, ready for 4th generation Core "Haswell" processors in the LGA1150 package. The Z87N-WiFi from GIGABYTE takes advantage of the smaller package size of the Z87 PCH, to cram in every feature you'll need, on the space constrained form-factor. The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin and 4-pin ATX connectors. It uses a 4-phase power supply for the CPU, which is wired to a pair of DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting dual-channel memory, and a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. The only other expansion slot is an mPCIe, populated by the board's WiFi card. Storage connectivity on the Z87N-WiFi includes four SATA 6 Gb/s ports, all from the PCH. A pair of HDMI connectors, and dual-link DVI make for its display connectivity. Two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, 8-channel HD audio with optical SPDIF, six USB 3.0 ports (four rear, two by header), and 802.11ac WLAN make for the rest of it. The Z87N-WiFi could be part of the first wave of LGA1150 motherboards by GIGABYTE.Source: LegitReviews

Take a good minute to reminisce all the joy and fun you had on the internet. Good times, I tell you. Then take another solid minute to recollect those dark depressing moments when the connection was either slow or unstable. Images turning into rectangles with red crosses, laggy videos that took forever to load, downloads that tragically failed at the last few seconds, and it all seemed like the world was coming to an end. Rest assured that ASRock is bringing better Internet connections to the upcoming Intel 8 Series motherboards with A-Style: 2T2R Dual Band 802.11ac WiFi + Bluetooth v4.0.

ASUS announced a fleet of socket LGA1150 motherboards, covering its mainline (classic), Republic of Gamers (ROG), and The Ultimate Force (TUF) lines. With this series, ASUS is adopting a new color scheme for its mainline motherboards, breaking away from the black PCB with blue heatsinks scheme it maintained since the first LGA1156 motherboards, almost four years ago. The new mainline motherboards from ASUS feature black PCBs with golden-colored heatsinks covering the VRM and PCH, and simpler naming. ASUS' first wave of Z87-based mainline (classic) motherboards include the entry-level Z87-C and Z87-A, mid-range Z87-PLUS and Z87-PRO, and premium Z87-DELUXE.

Along with the Z87 mainline (classic) series, ASUS unveiled its premium gamer-overclocker targeted Republic of Gamers (ROG) Maximus VI series, consisting of three models, the Maximus VI Hero, the Maximus VI Gene, and the Maximus VI Extreme. The Maximus VI Hero is the more affordable ATX model among the three; the Maximus VI Gene is the only micro-ATX offering, while the Maximus VI Extreme is the flagship motherboard from ASUS for socket LGA1150.

The Maximus VI Hero offers a 12-phase CPU power supply, most ROG-exclusive features, expansion slots that include three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (x16/NC/NC or x8/x8/NC or x8/x4/x4), eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports, SupremeFX onboard audio with ground-layer isolation, and essential connectivity options that include four USB 3.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet, and HDMI display output. We won't be surprised if Maximus VI Hero ends up being a sub-$200 option, to compete against similarly priced alternatives from ASRock and MSI.

D-Link today announced it is now shipping a new line of AC Routers with the availability of the Wireless AC1750 Router (DIR-868L), Wireless AC1200 Router (DIR-860L), Wireless AC1000 Router (DIR-820L) and Wireless AC750 Router (DIR-810L). Offering next-generation Wi-Fi speeds, D-Link's latest 802.11ac Routers deliver a range of wireless speeds and price points for creating a reliable and strong Wi-Fi home network ideal for HD video streaming, online gaming, and multiple user activities.

"Today's average home now has more than 15 devices, oftentimes with multiple iPads, iPhones, as well as Android phones and tablets, and consumers are looking for the best in wireless connectivity to help deliver uninterrupted HD video streaming, online gaming and multiple user capabilities," said Daniel Kelley , vice president of marketing, D-Link Systems, Inc. "With the introduction of the new 11AC Router line, D-Link provides next-generation wireless speeds to meet the needs of the digital home coupled with advanced remote management and sharing capabilities to better suit mobile lifestyles."

NETGEAR, Inc., a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers, is highlighting its diverse suite of connectivity solutions for the "smart" home and growing businesses at the MedPi trade show (www.medpi.com) taking place in Monaco from May 14-17. NETGEAR will be located in booth G33 of the Banque Magnetique Village (espace Ravel) in Monte Carlo's Grimaldi Forum.

"Our broad range of WiFi, powerline, storage and media networking products on display at MedPi is a testament to NETGEAR's seventeen years of championing connectivity to make your life easier, in your home as well as your workplace," said David Henry , NETGEAR's vice president of product management for retail business.

The demands on network bandwidth are dramatically increasing, and Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI) is meeting those needs with a suite of new indoor- and outdoor-rated 802.11ac access points (APs). Delivering faster speeds, these APs help alleviate bandwidth challenges faced by both enterprises and governments when users connect to Wi-Fi networks and access high-bandwidth applications such as mobile video and streaming media applications.

The complete suite includes the AP 8232, AP 8222 and AP 8263, offering flexible options for a wide variety of deployment scenarios. The APs also enable integrated location and security sensing for mobile commerce applications to help connect shoppers in retail stores and hotel guests both indoors and outdoors. For government workers, these can provide data-rich content and multimedia sharing across the government enterprise with high-speed 802.11ac. These APs are also backward compatible with previous 802.11 standards and will support existing clients, preventing the need to create a new infrastructure.

Linksys today announced the availability of the latest additions to its Smart Wi-Fi portfolio. The Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router AC 1200 and AC 1750 are available immediately and the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router AC 1600, model EA6400, is planned for availability in late May. The new Smart Wi-Fi routers can be installed from virtually any device through browser-based set-up; and with Linksys SimpleTap, consumers can easily connect new devices to the home network through innovative ways, such as scanning a QR code or NFC tag. All new models feature industry-standard beamforming technology that significantly helps improve router speed, overall performance and wireless range in the home.

"The increase in smart devices has created a strong demand for smarter Wi-Fi solutions that can keep up with all of today's technology needs," said Mike Chen, senior director of product management, Linksys. "Our new, more powerful Smart Wi-Fi routers not only deliver unprecedented speed and range, but also game-changing Smart Wi-Fi tools and apps that allow users to do everything from manage kids' screen time to centrally store and stream music and video, all through their smartphone and tablet, from anywhere around the world."

NETGEAR, Inc., a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers, is expanding its market-leading family of next-generation 802.11ac wireless products with the R6250 Smart WiFi Router. The industry's newest router to support the upcoming 802.11ac wireless standard, the R6250 is designed for customers who want the best possible 802.11ac WiFi performance but don't feel the need to have the fastest 802.11n WiFi performance in the 2.4 Ghz band.

The router includes Gigabit Ethernet ports and a USB 3.0 port so that you can make the most of the outstanding performance it delivers with 802.11ac WiFi. The NETGEAR R6250 is ideal for HD streaming to multiple devices, including the latest smartphones with 802.11ac, such as the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One.

VIZIO announced today the pricing and availability of its spring 2013 line-up of Windows 8 PCs, equipped with 10-finger capacitive touch displays on every new model and supported by outstanding picture quality and rich audio. With select models now available for pre-order at VIZIO.com and on sale at MicrosoftStore.com, each Thin + Light and All-in-One model offers seamless touchscreen technology, powerful performance and premium entertainment enhancements for the ideal interactive Windows 8 experience.

Offering the top-of-the-line quad-core processors from both AMD (A10 APU) and Intel (Core i7), the VIZIO Touch PC line-up boasts optimal performance in an exquisitely designed, premium PC. Highlighted by 15.6" Full HD (starting at $1,189.99) and 14" HD+ (starting at $1,089.99) screen sizes, VIZIO's Thin + Light Touch models showcase an ultra-thin profile, multi-gesture touchscreen and increased battery capacity. A standard voltage quad-core processor enables the Thin + Light Touch to perform like a desktop, but is conveniently mobile thanks to an ultra-thin chassis.

Buffalo Technology, a global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of wired and wireless networking and network and direct attached storage solutions, today will demonstrate a collection of new storage and networking products during CES at booth 36620 in South Hall 4 of the LVCC. These new products are designed to improve the digital lives of consumers, offering new features and increased performance for enhanced usability and convenience.

TP-LINK, a global provider of networking products, today announced its new AC600 Wireless Dual Band USB Adapter, the TL-WDN5200. Using the latest in Wi-Fi technology, the TL-WDN5200 will allow users to take full advantage of the 802.11ac standard on their PCs and laptops with up to 433 Mbps over the 5 GHz band and 150 Mbps over the 2.4 GHz band.

More than simply providing compatibility with the latest in wireless technology, with 802.11ac speed and range, users will be able to experience never-before-possible wireless capabilities when using their upgraded PCs or laptops. Using dual band wireless technology users have the ability to access crystal clear 5 GHz connections or legacy 2.4 GHz connections. With wireless connections transmitting over the 5 GHz band, users needn't worry about interference from neighboring wireless devices and the plethora of household appliances that may interfere with their wireless signal, ensuring high-quality connections ideal for bandwidth-intensive applications such as HD video streaming and online gaming.

Securifi today introduced the world to Almond+, the first color touchscreen Wireless Router featuring an integrated Smart Home hub. This amazing device not only delivers blazing fast wireless connectivity via dual band 802.11ac wireless technology, but also adds the compelling features of home automation to its list of capabilities. The Securifi team, which is pleased to announce it will be showing Almond+ to the public for the first time at the 2013 International CES in Las Vegas, NV (Jan 8-11, 2003, booth # 74109, Eureka Park Tech Zone, Venetian Hotel & Casino), is also close to launching a Kickstarter campaign for support to perfect and launch the product.

The latest break-through product from Securifi, Almond+ builds off of the success of its predecessor, the Almond Wireless Router, which consumers voted the "#1 Best Rated Wireless Router" on Amazon.com. Featuring Plug-N-Play connectivity and an easy-to-use color touch screen (2.8″, 320 x 240) interface that allows users to setup without the need of a PC, Mac or CD, users can access the internet in seconds. And its patent pending design is not only elegant but also highly functional with its unique shape and small footprint. When mounted on the wall, its innovative recessed connectors hide all cables so there is no visible clutter.

Cisco Linksys today announced the expansion of its Linksys Smart Wi-Fi portfolio with three new 802.11ac powered Smart Wi-Fi Routers, a new compact 802.11ac USB adapter, new features and new Smart Wi-Fi Apps. Together, these innovations give consumers a smarter way to control their wireless home network and connected devices.

With the new Smart Wi-Fi Routers, consumers will enjoy incredibly fast Wi-Fi speeds with exceptional in-house Wi-Fi coverage. Consumers will also notice simplified installation that can be completed in a matter of minutes. Additionally, the routers offer new tools for home network monitoring and control, and new mobile apps for anytime, anywhere remote access of files, photos, videos, music and more. The new Smart Wi-Fi Routers and compact USB adapter are expected to be available in the spring.

VIZIO announced today its spring 2013 line-up of Windows 8 PCs, equipped with 10-finger capacitive touch displays on every new model. Seamless touchscreen technology and premium entertainment enhancements to the new spring line give users the ideal interactive Windows 8 experience, supported by outstanding picture quality and rich audio.

VIZIO will be showcasing select PC models at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, NV, January 7 -11, 2013 at the Wynn Hotel, by appointment.

Celeno Communications, a leading provider of high-performance Wi-Fi chips and software for HD multimedia and data home networking applications, and Edimax, a leading manufacturer of networking solutions, today unveiled the first 802.11ac video bridge powered by Celeno's CLR2200 802.11ac chips. The high-performance video bridge extends the capabilities of the wireless network and enables the uninterrupted streaming of HD IPTV as well as data to multiple screens within subscriber homes while ensuring incomparable Quality of Service and Experience (QoS and QoE).

The video bridge supports 802.11ac with peak radio throughput of 866 Mbps, Transmit Beam Forming and Celeno's field-deployed OptimizAIR video-grade technology suite allows for a superior throughput/range and quality of service for video distribution in the home.

D-Link today expanded its line of award-winning routers with the new D-Link Gaming Router with Qualcomm StreamBoost technology (DGL-5500), offering Gigabit AC1300 wireless speeds and intelligent bandwidth allocation for the ultimate in gaming, media streaming and network control. Equipped with Qualcomm StreamBoost technology, the Gaming Router represents D-Link's most advanced gaming router to date, intelligently allocating bandwidth to deliver lag-free, uninterrupted gaming for a high-performance experience in today's dynamic online gaming environments.

"The Gaming Router represents the ultimate in home network speed and control, offering the ability to fine-tune bandwidth to deliver the high-performance hungry gamers crave," said Daniel Kelley , associate vice president of marketing, D-Link Systems, Inc. "Through the unique Qualcomm StreamBoost technology, this router intelligently optimizes a home network for the games you want when you want – making lag time, buffering and failed downloads a thing of the past. With the new Gaming Router, play against real opponents live, any time day or night, for unparalleled multi-player combat performance and first-person shooting experiences online."

Intel's next-generation SSD 530 series, which sees a single product line covering 2.5-inch and compact form-factors, arrives in the second quarter of 2013. The new series is being designed to offer high-performance even at smaller card form-factors, which is particularly important for the ultra-thin/Ultrabook ecosystem. The drive has been pictured in the newer NGFF (next generation form-factor), which is designed to be even smaller than mSATA.

While mSATA drives typically measure 51 x 30 mm, NGFF measures 42 x 22 mm. NGFF is a single interface featuring pins for both SATA and PCI-Express x2 or x4, and cards designed around its specification can either be SATA SSDs, or other bandwidth-heavy devices (such as 802.11ac WLAN controllers). Cards can even be designed to have an SATA SSD subunit on one side, and a PCI-Express device on the other, saving swathes of PCB real-estate in the process. The form-factor even supports double-sided SSDs such as this one from Lite-On, which features an independent SSD subunit on each side, which is striped in RAID 0. The NGFF Intel SSD 530 family will be introduced in Q2-2013, in two capacities - 80 GB and 180 GB.Source: Expreview

Amped Wireless, the leading manufacturer of high power, long range wireless communication products for the home and office, today unveiled its family of next generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi products. The upcoming 802.11ac wireless standard is the world's fastest Wi-Fi, providing gigabit Wi-Fi speeds allowing for web content to download faster, high quality media content to synch more quickly and transfer to multiple sources at once with ease.

"By combining our award winning high power technology with the horsepower of 802.11ac, we are able to provide faster speeds at greater distances than standard 802.11ac products. This means faster streaming, downloading and web browsing with your tablet, laptop or smartphone throughout your entire home, backyard or office," said Jason Owen, CEO of Amped Wireless. "With 802.11ac standard ratifying in 2013, consumers can have a more dynamic wireless network, an Amped Wireless 802.11ac based-network will deliver top of the line performance with up to three times the speed and range of past solutions."

Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, today announced the commercial availability of the industry's first enterprise-level 802.11ac access point (AP) products. Huawei's introduction of the first 802.11ac APs in the enterprise market marks another important milestone for Huawei as one of the leading ICT solution providers in the industry. This is also testament to Huawei's commitment to Gigabit wireless access, further promoting the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend and accelerating business transformation.

Comprising two models, AP7030DN-AC and AP7130DN-AC, Huawei's enterprise-level 802.11ac APs support throughput of up to 1.3Gbps at 5G frequency and 1.75Gbps at dual frequency, and allow for smooth evolution from 11n to 11ac. Its high performance and industry-leading features will enable enterprise users to enjoy a wide range of wireless services that have high bandwidth requirements, such as HD video streaming, multi-media activities and cloud desktop access. Independently developed by Huawei's dedicated design team, the 802.11ac APs feature a world-class casing design which was awarded the "iF Product Design Award 2013" presented by iF International Forum Design, a prestigious design promotion organization based in Germany.

RivieraWaves, the leading wireless connectivity silicon IP (Intellectual Property) provider, announced IEEE Wi-Fi 11n certification of its new scalable Wi-Fi 802.11ac silicon IP. The IP is available in a broad range of configurations, supports 802.11n and 802.11ac specifications, single or multiple MIMO (Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output) streams, and up to four transmit and receive antennas. In its simplest 1x1 configuration, the IP is optimized for wireless sensors and many Internet of Things (IoT) applications requiring low power consumption. For more complex MIMO configurations, the IP can achieve optimized throughput close to the maximum theoretical values, and is ideal for applications such as smart phones, tablets, computers, digital TVs and set-top boxes.

Thanks to the increased bandwidth and more complex modulation, 802.11ac devices can achieve throughputs of around three times those of 802.11n devices. Other benefits of 802.11ac are better range and improved reliability, in particular for better gaming experiences and high-definition (HD) video streaming.

Marvell today announced the Marvell Avastar 88W8864, a wireless local area network (WLAN) system-on-chip (SoC) and the industry's first 802.11ac 4x4 solution built to improve the throughput of enterprise and retail access points (APs) and the robustness of wireless video distribution.

The widespread adoption of Wi-Fi enabled devices requires faster, more efficient and reliable wireless that enables quick and seamless connectivity. Compared to its predecessor 802.11n, 802.11ac offers up to a three times increase in Wi-Fi throughput and more than two times the power efficiency when processing high-speed loads.

Buffalo announced availability of the WZR-D1100H/U 802.11ac WLAN router in Japan. Due to regulatory restrictions local to the country, its wireless bandwidth will cap out at 600 Mbps when routing in the 802.11ac mode. It supports the 5.00 GHz band in addition to 2.4 GHz. Its upstream and downstream Ethernet ports support 1 Gbps bandwidth. Most common security features are supported. It is priced at 25,450¥ (US $310).Source: Akihabara News

Japanese company Logitec announced the LAN-WH600ACGR, an 802.11ac compliant WLAN router. Due to local government imposed restrictions for home/office communication equipment, the router can only serve at speeds of up to 600 Mbps. The router supports the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands, and uses three antennae to support MIMO. In order for upstream and downstream wired connections not to bottleneck the WLAN, the router features gigabit Ethernet on its lone upstream and three downstream ports. Its router component supports multi-session PPPoE, UPnP, and Dynamic DNS. Most standard security protocols are supported, including WPA-2 PSK AES, WPA PSK TKIP, 128-bit WEP. Measuring 190 x 210 x 45 mm, it weighs about 580 g, needs an external AC power adapter, and can by clung onto walls.Source: PC Watch

WD, a Western Digital company, and a world leader in external storage and solutions for today's connected life, today unveils the new My Net AC1300 HD Dual-Band Router and My Net AC Bridge as the latest additions to the acclaimed My Net family of HD dual-band routers. These products combine next-generation 802.11ac wireless technology with WD's exclusive FasTrack technology for automatically prioritizing high-bandwidth entertainment services like Netflix, YouTube, online games and Skype, to provide maximum streaming performance inside the home.

A leading product testing and analysis organization, The Tolly Group, conducted performance testing of the My Net AC1300 router and My Net Bridge amongst comparable products on the market today. Results show that the My Net AC1300 router is faster than leading competitive products averaged across ranges of 30 to 75 feet, demonstrating the strongest performance in providing stable wireless speeds over long distances, and cutting out buffering and lag times to provide a smooth HD entertainment streaming experience throughout the home.