Linksys Now Shipping WRT1900AC Wireless AC Router

Linksys announced on Thursday the launch of its new WRT1900AC. The design of this router was inspired by the iconic WRT54G that was introduced 11 years ago. However, don't let the old-school look fool you; the innards are all up-to-date Wireless AC parts including a dual-core processor, flash memory, eSATA and USB ports.

"The WRT is a cornerstone in the history of Wi-Fi and synonymous for many people with going wireless at home since it was their first wireless router. Since the introduction of the original WRT, we have sold more than 50 million units worldwide and are still selling it very successfully even with wireless technology advancing rapidly," said Mike Chen, vice president product management for Linksys.

According to the specs, the new router provides Wireless AC speeds up to 1300 Mbps on the 5 GHz band, and Wireless N speeds up to 600 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band. The router also includes five Gigabit Ethernet ports (one for WAN), one eSATA/USB 2.0 port, and a USB 3.0 port. There's also a dual-core ARM-based processor clocked at 1.2 GHz, 128 MB of flash memory, 256 MB of DDR3 RAM, and four exchangeable antennas.

The router can be set up using any device via a browser-based interface. Users set up two SSIDs, one per radio band, but have the option of hiding these labels. Additional features include sharing a printer via the USB or eSATA port, parental controls to prevent access to naughty websites, drag-and-drop media prioritization, dynamic DNS services, and more. The router is also open-source ready.

"We see it as a very positive development to have collaborated directly with the Linksys engineering team on the new WRT1900AC router," said Gregers Petersen, relationship manager at OpenWrt. "As a result of that consumers will have the freedom of choice between the Linksys default firmware and OpenWrt. The OpenWrt developers recognize the potential of the collaboration with Linksys, and the opportunities it brings for more devices and solutions."

Unlike other Wireless AC routers on the market, this model provides four adjustable and removable antennas. The router automatically selects and utilizes the best three of the four antennas to transmit and receive data. This helps provide greater range and coverage, which in turn provides the best performance wherever users are located.

The new Linksys WRT1900AC Dual Band Wireless-AC Router will be available starting April 13, 2014, at Best Buy stores and at the Linksys.com store at an MSRP of $279.99.