Linksys announced on May 7 that it is now taking preorders for its new router, the Linksys Max-Stream AC2600 MU-MIMO Gigabit, also known as EA8500. The product includes 802.11ac Wave 2 Multi-User, Multiple-Input, Multiple Output technology, and it incorporates Qualcomm MU/EFX MU-MIMO+ technology.
The goal of the router is to not only increase browsing speeds, but eliminate breaks in connectivity. Linksys also claims that the EA8500 has 2.53Gbps Wi-Fi speeds, making it one of the fastest on the market, according to ZDNet.
With four Gigabit ports and a 1.4 GHz dual-core CPU, the router is also targeted toward gamers who require heavy bandwidth. It has a USB 3.0 port and a combo USB 2.0/eSATA port for data sharing purposes. The four external antennas of the EA8500 are removable and adjustable as well.
“MU-MIMO technology revolutionizes the wireless experience in the home,” said Mike Chen, the vice president of product management at Linksys. “We are so confident in the experience that MU-MIMO provides that we will be expanding our product line in the future to include more MU-MIMO routers.”
The Linksys Max-Stream AC2600 MU-MIMO Gigabit router will be available beginning May 10 at retailers including Amazon, Best Buy and Newegg at a starting price of $280, according to TomsHardware.com. The target demographic appears to be homes with multiple connected devices, as well as gamers.
Linksys recently added to its WRT1900AC router line at the end of April with the release of the WRT1200AC. Highlights of its features include open source firmware and two antennas that provide strong signal strength on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks. The WRT1200AC also has four gigabit Ethernet ports, a USB 2.0 and 3.0 port and a SATA port.
This router hits the market at a price of $180, and is available at electronic retailers including Newegg, Amazon and Best Buy.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.