NETGEAR WNR2000 Wireless-N Router

I picked up this router for two reasons: (1) I wanted to upgrade from my Wireless-G to Wireless-N (draft), to make file transfers faster between my computers; (2) I wanted to give whichever router I liked less to my parents, so I could have wifi there when I visit them. My existing router was a Linksys WRT54GS, which had good wireless-G speeds (I couldn't complain) and excellent uptime, stability, and reliability. It's main drawback is that the firmware doesn't have some features I want, such as the ability to set stable IP addresses to my PCs, and it can't be flashed to Tomato or DD-WRT. When I received the router, I decided to replace it, without using the Windows-based setup wizard (networking equipment shouldn't requires Windows), and set it up in the manner of an advanced router user.

First Impressions/Hardware Impressions
This router looks very nice. The lines are clean (there is no external antenna). The plastic is shiny. The lights on the front are stylish...Read more

Everytime I purchase a product, my biggest concern will always be - does it work as advertised? And if it doesn't, how does the company (including customer support) address the issues? I would advise that before you buy one, to check not only customer reviews but also their feedback in dealing with the company's customer support area. Of course you cannot please every customer and not everyone has the same technical aptitude in using a product, but reading reviews regarding reliability of the product itself and how the company is addressing it in general is always a great idea.

For the physical look of the product, I'm happy with the direction Netgear is going - a slim, vertical product like a book-end rather than the usual horizontal arrangement where you end up stacking all other components on top of each other. This design is smarter for a product that has no external antenna.

(As comparison, I have been using an Apple AirPort Extreme router also with...Read more

I tested the Netgear WNR 2000 router on this setup:
iMac G4, system 10.4.11 (wired)
Safari 3.1.2 web browser
DSL broadband
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iPod Touch, first generation (wireless)
PlayStation 3 (wired & wireless)
Sony Vaio laptop (wired)
Apple iBook laptop (wireless)

Setup:
*Setup and configuration on my iMac was fairly easy, even though the Netgear setup Wizard is not available for Macs. All I had to do was insert the "Start Here" CD-ROM and click on an HTML document. After that, I followed the basic step-by-step setup instructions by accessing the router through a web browser.

*However, a key thing that made setting up the router simple was that I already had my computer configured to use a wired DSL router. Somebody setting up a router and a network for the first time might need more help, especially Mac specific help, than the CD-ROM offers.

Pros:
*The router is quite compact and doesn't have any...Read more