New FRITZ!Box 7272 hits Australia

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AVM FRITZ!Box 7272 und FRITZ!Box 3272 / AVM FRITZ!Box 7272 and F

news Australian distributor PCRange this week revealed it had started distributing a new model in the popular FRITZ!Box range of high-end ADSL routers, with the 7272 model to launch locally this year, replacing the entry level 7270 model and adding two gigabit Ethernet ports into the mix.

Previously PCRange had distributed the 7270 and the 7390 FRITZ!Box models in Australia, especially using relationships with ISPs such as Internode to to so. The routers are notable because of their high-end featureset compared with the routers offered by rival companies and have thus proven popular in Australia’s early technology adopter and IT community.

In a statement released yesterday, PCRange noted that it had now introduced the FRITZ!Box 7272 router. The router supports the ADSL2+ standard but also offers two fast gigabit LAN ports and two Fast Ethernet ports. PCRange is describing the unit as being “NBN-ready with support for fibre Internet access out of the box”.

Like other models, the FRITZ!Box 7272 contains a telephone system supporting both PSTN and VoIP phone services, connection ability for analogue and DECT handsets, and integrated voicemail. It comes with a USB 2.0 port, a media server and supporyt for network-attached storage. The integrated DECT base station in the FRITZ!Box 7272 can connect as many as six cordless telephones, offering in-premise calling, customised identification and handset access to voicemail.

FRITZ!Box manufacturer AVM also makes the 7272 easy to manage, according to PCRange’s statement, with an intuitive browser-based interface as well as an iPhone/iPad app for quick convenient configuration of the router.

PCRange chief executive Raaj Menon said the FRITZ!Box 7272 was the perfect package for the home broadband user. “The 7272 is a beautiful unit, easy to use with blistering performance,” he said. “The 7272 provides a platform for networked applications like IPTV, video on demand and media streaming plus a communications hub with fast Wireless N, gigabit Ethernet, a USB port, a telephone system including a DECT base station and answering machines, and a media server.”

The FRITZ!Box 7272 will be available in February with a recommended retail price of $249.

The Delimiter office utilises a FRITZ!Box 7390 (currently as a second router for internal network distribution), which has provided very solid levels of both ADSL2+ and internal LAN and WLAN connectivity for several years. Delimiter’s review of the FRITZ!Box 7270 states:

So what’s not to like about the FRITZ!Box 7270? Just two things.

Firstly, it doesn’t come with gigabit Ethernet. This means that we can’t in all honesty recommend the 7270 version box for power users or businesses who need the highest level of bandwidth amongst their homes or premises. With the rollout of the NBN and multimedia use within homes and businesses being what it is in 2011, there is really no reason to buy a router without gigabit Ethernet.

Secondly, there’s the price.

The FRITZ!Box 7270 comes with nearly every feature under the sun … and Internode and local distributors PC Range are going to slug you in the arm for it. $299 is a bit much for a high-end home router in 2011 … and most people won’t use most of the FRITZ!Box’s features. Internode itself is selling a low-end Netcomm model with 802.11g Wi-Fi and four Ethernet ports for $119. And there’s also the fact, that for $299, you’d expect to get gigabit Ethernet in a router.

If you absolutely need gigabit Ethernet, the 7390 version of the FRITZ!Box is also available — but the price just keeps on getting steeper — $399 for the stand-alone model, plus another $100 if you want a DECT handset bundled in.

For these prices, the FRITZ!Box can really only be classified as a small business router — not a home offering, unless you have a family of five people or more and need multiple dedicated VoIP lines and so on. But, with most kids in 2011 preferring their mobile over a landline anyway … it’s still hard to justify the cost.

Setting these problems aside, the FRITZ!Box is a perfectly priced and ideally configured device for one category of customers — professionals with a small home office, or companies of only a handful of staff members. For this type of use, the FRITZ!Box 7270 is perfect, and we commend it to them. A marvellous piece piece of engineering, it will serve as a valuable investment that will deliver network stability for many years to come.

Image credit: AVM

29 COMMENTS

  1. I have never been overly keen on the ADSL + Router combo as if you move to different tech you need something new. Not only that but even on ADSL if you move house a different modem may get you better results due to the chipset.

    • using my 7270 on 50/20 nbn now. you dont need to pitch it when you pitch DSL – just move to the WAN port instead of the POTS one.

      as for the chipset, the Fritz series i notice are fairly well regarded in terms of DSL abilities. dunno if this new one supports VDSL as well but thats the only one missing from most consumer routers these days, you’ll likely need a new box for one of those lines anyway.

      dont like the price of the 7272 – id have to spend all over again /grumbles

      do like the gigabit ports. my nas will benefit tho putting the NBN box on the other link i doubt will do much, mebbe steam will be faster with jumbo frames? iunno. but given my service is 50/20 i dont think ive threatened the 100 mbit of the 7270 as it is…..

      i have a dect handset paired as well and nodephone is seamless so there really isnt a whole lot to upgrade for. it will probably wind up as the bundle model for iiNet and Internode and the like tho, which is definitely a good thing, they are very capable boxen.

      • Don’t jumbo frames need to be supported end to end?
        I doubt any ISP will enable large MTUs, let alone everything in between you and the Steam servers.

        • only know of its existence, not more than that lol. trying to scratch around for reasons to justify upgrade from 7270 – but if you already have a fritz then it looks theres no point. would be happy to trade with anyone wanting a downgrade though :P

  2. Both the 7270 and the 7390 support 802.11n. The 7270 on 2.4ghz only, the 7390 on 2.4 & 5ghz.

  3. Small typo, fourth paragraph “supporyt”

    Like other models, the FRITZ!Box 7272 contains a telephone system supporting both PSTN and VoIP phone services, connection ability for analogue and DECT handsets, and integrated voicemail. It comes with a USB 2.0 port, a media server and *supporyt* for network-attached storage.

    Feel free to delete this comment.

  4. The applications supported for the NBN-Ready device are a bit pointless. A device 10-15 years too early?

  5. One other reason for a higher price is the Fritzboxen are made in Germany. I imagine the cost of compliance there is a bit more than in China.

    As nonny-moose said, the Fritz are good (I have the 7390) because they support ADSL2+ (incl. Annex M) as well as Ethernet WAN (such as a cable modem or NBN). Future-proofed.

    The simultaneous dual band WiFi is nice.

    The only downside I see is that management is with UPnP with no SNMP support. Even my old Dlink Access Point did SNMP and I could log stats with MRTG.

  6. No android app. Oh I guess they don’t want to tap into the majority market share. Oh well.

  7. You heard it hear first folks, the year’s most exciting development in the domestic broadband connectivity space.

    • I ‘hear’ ya! (lol, chuckle)

      It’s sad, there isn’t much else to look forward to as the MTM bulldozer is getting fuelled up.

      Maybe I’ll read up on how the Target POS machines were hacked in the U.S.

  8. I find the Asus RT-AC66U is better value for money, and then bridge your old modem router. Works a treat for me.

    • Maybe you should compare apples to apples: The Asus doesn’t have the PSTN / DECT / VOIP etc of the Fritz.

      I’m curious to know if the 7272 now does VDSL2 like the 7390. Gonna be a lot more of that in Aus one day (I’ll refrain from saying “soon” ..)

  9. Funny, never seen Delimiter “review” anything from Netcomm or D-Link or TP-Link any of the vendors who offer the low cost good value products that ordinary people buy. Presumably Delimiter got to keep the unit it tested in return for the very large free ad it gave the product. That’s how it works in journalism, isn’t it?

    • Read our ethics policy:

      http://delimiter.com.au/code-ethics/

      “Delimiter does not accept gifts above the value of $200. All review units will be returned to the supplying company once the associated review is complete, or at the supplier’s request.”

      FYI I personally bought the FRITZ!Box 7390 we have in the office, at a cost, from memory of around $399. It was not a gift or a review unit.

      I don’t review low-end routers because I don’t think there is enough demand from the Delimiter audience for such reviews — our audience tends to focus on the high-end consumer gear. It’s for the same reason that we focus on high-end mobile phones and not entry-level models.

    • Your comment is invalid.

      Seriously ask around. Renai is a known crazy. He sends everything desirable back.

      It is quite possible Renai has forced some vendors to create procedures to accept returns.

      He grumbles about how hard it is to send stuff back, at which point I offer to relieve him of the gear. Sadly he keeps on grumbling and I don’t get gear.

  10. 7390 is widely available $100 cheaper by not buying through an ISP.

    At least, that’s how I got mine. The extra $100 from the ISP would also include time spent pre-configuring the device.

  11. but on release Node had a exlusive 3 months or so so a lot of us early adpoters got it then , i’m supprised they are still relativley the same price at computer stores , i think around $270-300 in Perth for the 7390.

    its not exactly a new device almost 3 years later

    • internode had em on sale when i did my nbn signup – 249 and 149 respectively. pick em up at the right place or right time and yes you can certainly save on the sticker price.

  12. Purchased 7390 a few years back along with 3 handsets. My only issue with it is lack of caller ID on PSTN incoming calls. Does the 7272 do any better in this regard?

Comments are closed.