National broadband provider iiNet has started selling the second major version of its popular BoB integrated routers, as well as a wireless bridge which aims to link customers’ loungeroom media centres with their Internet connections.
The company’s ‘BoB2’ device is an integrated router supporting the ADSL2+ standard, as well as the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi standard and dual VoIP capability to support two phone numbers from two providers through its included handset. The handset sports a full colour screen and a built-in touch panel answering machine.
iiNet has also specified that customers using the router will be able to use it to connect with the ISP’s FetchTV service, which it is limiting to customers with certain routers due to the stringent requirements of online streaming video. It also offers a range of other features common to modern ADSL routers and even supports the incoming IPv6 standard.
Following the release of BoB Lite, iiNet’s first device to be designed, built and distributed internally, the development of BoB2 was announced last February. At that time iiNet had said the device would have been released by April. However, in April iiNet Labs general manager Steve Harley said the BoB2 had been delayed to make sure it was sporting the latest technologies and that work was back on track to deliver it by June.
Harley today praised the new router in a statement issued by iiNet yesterday. “More than 4500 customers told us what they wanted from a modem router and BoB2 is the result. I don’t know the word for better than awesome, but BoB2 is it,” he said.
iiNet also today announced the availability of its Wireless Bridge product, which sits between any of the routers in the BoB line and customers’ FetchTV set-top boxes in their loungeroom, facilitating wireless streaming of HD-quality video over the 5GHz wireless frequency and the 802.11 standard.
The BoB2 device is available to new and existing iiNet customers for $279 outright or $199 on a 24 month contract, while the wireless bridge will go for $119 for a pair of the devices.
The BoB line appears to have been a success with iiNet’s customers since it first launched in mid-2009, with iiNet revealing in February 2010, for example, that it was selling about 4,000 units per month of the original integrated router, manufactured at that stage in coalition with Belkin. Since that time, iiNet has launched a ‘lite’ version of the BoB router and taken manufacturing of the devices in-house.
Delimiter’s review of the BoB Lite earlier this year criticised the router for shipping in an insecure state, as well as not featuring the top-of-the-line features that power users might want. However, it praised the router for being priced well for the market and being easy to set up.
Image credit: iiNet
iiNet also today announced the availability of its Wireless Bridge product, which sits between any of the routers in the BoB line and customers’ FetchTV set-top boxes in their loungeroom, facilitating wireless streaming of HD-quality video over the 5GHz wireless frequency and the 802.11 standard..
*facepalm* These types of products always annoy me. It’s not that transmission of “HD Quality footage” over a WiFi standard is impossible, it’s that you shouldn’t do it. I have yet to see any case where a problem with this where it wouldn’t be better served with an HDMIoCat5 based solution or ethernet in general.
Such as these products from ZanTech.
Sure a wireless extender may be good for a short term fix or a rented property, or in this case what is little more than a glorified independent WiFi router by the sounds of it, but for something permanent like a media centre or desktop PC I always think running a physical cable is better. For $70 I was able to run a 25 metre cable through my house to my desktop PC along the skirting boards and that included two cable runners to get it across the door frame. A decent WiFi dongle will set you back that and give you far worse performance.
I agree, physical cabling is the only thing I trust for media stuff, large files etc.
It looks like a black upside down Mc Donnalds tray. :D
lol
i take the point that wired is better than wireless, but it may all be a moot point in some years time with wireless tv input standards – Intel have one apparrently, i have no idea of its specs but it is intended as a cabled input replacement. we’ll have to wait and see how that all shakes out.
all that said the new BoB is a slick looking piece of kit…. i presume it also has an NBN ready WAN port on it as well, and if so it seems it will have a bit of longevity. only an 80 buck saving for taking a 24 mo contract? the only real off-note to me. still, nice work iinet.
That technology is different. It’s designed basically for in room, low power, transmission over a maximum of around 10 metres.
Which makes sense, considering it is deployed in laptops and tablets as a presentation / keynote aid.
However, the HDMI repeaters and this new Bridge from iiNet are hardly comparable. For one thing they are often used for inter room transmission.
If you require a signal of that bandwidth between rooms, run a cable. It’s the same reason you use the roof ariel whereever possible in homes. The interference of walls, especially brick or metal studded, is very significant.
Any substance about these?
Other than “802.11n” this article is very light on details.
Is it dual transmitter? What is it’s maximum bandwidth? Etc? As it is all I see is barest specs. I suspect they haven’t released the specs yet Renai?
I am looking for a new wireless modem/router for home, and would consider a shift to iinet if this was as good as it could be. (want to go naked adsl also, totally sick of paying for a landline I don’t use, and haven’t bothered to cancel it)
Hmm they haven’t sent me a specs sheet, but I’ll ask for one. In the meantime, there is a stack of additional data in the manual docs here:
http://www.iinet.net.au/bob/documents.html
bob is hype. its just a fancy looking belkin and its bad. Like all belkin products.
Last thing we need its iinet dumping out garbage 5ghz product filling up the spectrum.
I was under the impression that the BoB2 was produced in house… can you confirm Renai?
It comes out of the Belkin factory, its just got iinet branding all over it, including the firmware.
Its another fail in the making.
In the press release it specifically says that iiNet are “designing and manufacturing [the BoB2 themselves]”.
Also, despite this, having such bias against Beklin is not only short sighted, it’s kinda bigoted.
Just because you have had a bad experience with one or a few of their products does not imply that all of them are “bad”.
Afterall Beklin are still a successful company and people still keep buying their products.
I may not be a user of iiNet and their products but casting judgements on something based upon a “brand”, especially when it appears said brand is no longer uncovered, or simply because you don’t think you’ll buy one isn’t a very wise thing to do.
At least let Renai get a review unit in hmm? :P
For a product aimed at the high(er) end of the consumer market I would of expected the inclusion of Gigabit Ethernet. Anyway…
I, too, cannot understand why gigabit Ethernet is not absolutely standard on all routers or switches of any kind being shipped atm.
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