802.11g vs 802.11n for iPad
Having bought an iPad, i'm now contemplating if it is time to upgrade my home router. My DLink DGL-4300 was one of the best 802.11g routers when it first hit the market. But since it doesn't do 802.11n, perhaps an upgrade is in order.
The question is, will the iPad, with it's battery management and relatively meager processing power, benefit from 802.11n? Speed? Range? Power consumption?
For my situation in particular, interference from other wifi nodes isn't an issue. My only other wifi device is a first-gen iPhone.
Is an upgrade worthwhile?
The question is, will the iPad, with it's battery management and relatively meager processing power, benefit from 802.11n? Speed? Range? Power consumption?
For my situation in particular, interference from other wifi nodes isn't an issue. My only other wifi device is a first-gen iPhone.
Is an upgrade worthwhile?
Comments
If we ever get the option to sync to iTunes via WiFi, then it might be worth it.
Having bought an iPad, i'm now contemplating if it is time to upgrade my home router. My DLink DGL-4300 was one of the best 802.11g routers when it first hit the market. But since it doesn't do 802.11n, perhaps an upgrade is in order.
The question is, will the iPad, with it's battery management and relatively meager processing power, benefit from 802.11n? Speed? Range? Power consumption?
For my situation in particular, interference from other wifi nodes isn't an issue. My only other wifi device is a first-gen iPhone.
Is an upgrade worthwhile?
What kind of speed are you getting now? I'm seeing 23.x Mbps on my Fios action tech router, 802.11g. No complaints, I don't see the need to pursue n yet.
If your speeds are low, you might look at improving other aspects of your g solution first.
What kind of speed are you getting now? I'm seeing 23.x Mbps on my Fios action tech router, 802.11g. No complaints, I don't see the need to pursue n yet.
If your speeds are low, you might look at improving other aspects of your g solution first.
Interesting... via my FiOS connection:
iMac copper gig = 25/10 Mbps
iMac 802.11g = 20/8 Mbps
iPad 802.11g = 20/2 Mbps
This suggests that the iPad is making full use of 802.11g bandwidth down but not up. I suspect this has to do with the power required to transmit at a higher speed.
But mainly, i think range would be the selling point if anything were to justify 802.11n for an iPad.
Anyone feel like running similar tests but also with 802.11n?
Having bought an iPad, i'm now contemplating if it is time to upgrade my home router. My DLink DGL-4300 was one of the best 802.11g routers when it first hit the market. But since it doesn't do 802.11n, perhaps an upgrade is in order.
The question is, will the iPad, with it's battery management and relatively meager processing power, benefit from 802.11n? Speed? Range? Power consumption?
For my situation in particular, interference from other wifi nodes isn't an issue. My only other wifi device is a first-gen iPhone.
Is an upgrade worthwhile?
I just purchased a Cisco E3000 router (dual band 802.11n). I am replacing a Buffalo 802.11g router that I flashed with DD-WRT. The iPad worked great with the Buffalo router, but it sometimes dropped the connection 2 floors away in my house. So, I bought the E3000 hoping for better range. Results:
1) No more lost connections. The iPad holds its Wi-Fi connection. I can't see how much stronger the signal is, but it's clearly working better.
2) SURPRISE: The iPad is now WAY faster. Web browsing is some % faster ... maybe 25 or 33, but the App Store and downloading is easily and no joke 3x or 4x faster. It was unbelievable how much n added.
I am very happy w/my upgrade in terms of speed, but I don't trust Linksys/Cisco stock OS for their routers. I've historically had issues on the wireless side, which is why I went to DD-WRT on the old Buffalo router ... and never had to reboot the router. So, we'll see if the E3000 ends up being more stable since DD-WRT isn't running on it yet.
Scott
Having bought an iPad, i'm now contemplating if it is time to upgrade my home router. My DLink DGL-4300 was one of the best 802.11g routers when it first hit the market. But since it doesn't do 802.11n, perhaps an upgrade is in order.
The question is, will the iPad, with it's battery management and relatively meager processing power, benefit from 802.11n? Speed? Range? Power consumption?
For my situation in particular, interference from other wifi nodes isn't an issue. My only other wifi device is a first-gen iPhone.
Is an upgrade worthwhile?
I am wondering if the new OS will include support for Bonjour printing. Since their Airport models support Bonjour printer sharing, this seems like the easiest way for them integrate printer management and usage into iPhone OS. Apple recently released a Bonjour Printer utility for Windows, that allows for discovery and adding Bonjour printers. This might be to help stimulate usage and adoption of Bonjour printing in SOHO and home environments. if they do add Bonjour printing to iPhone OS and since your are considering an upgrade anyway, it might be a good reason to look at the Airport Extreme. Plus all the other features they offer.
As for your specific questions, while I don't have an iPad, I definitely noticed, though I didn't measure, improvements over my Linksys G router when I upgraded to the Airport Extreme N. Corners of my house that had almost no signal were very usable. I always had crap signal on my deck, but get a great signal there now.
Anyone? Bueller?