NETGEAR on Tuesday announced a new gaming router, security service, and a broad range of other offerings, with all of them being part of the company’s CES 2018 launch event. The Nighthawk Pro Gaming WiFi Router (XR500) is accompanied by the Nighthawk Pro Gaming SX10 10G/Multi-Gig LAN Switch (GS810EMX), with the duo being meant to bring one’s online gaming activities to the next level by maximally stabilizing their ping and dealing with any potential lag spikes caused by ordinary hardware. The offerings are meant to improve your online multiplayer experience on both consoles and PCs, allow for both Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity, and come with a wide variety of supporting software used for both controlling their activities and providing you with a personalized network management solution specifically designed to cater to all types of gamers.
Geo filters, native VPN support, gigabit ethernet ports, and Beamforming+ are all part of the XR500 package, with the router featuring a dual-core 1.7GHz CPU which allows for both 4K streaming and online virtual reality experiences, in addition to featuring 512MB of RAM and 256MB of internal flash storage. The GS810EMX switch supports two uplinks with five levels of speed, ranging from 100Mbps to 10Gbps that are easily switchable so as to provide you with a maximum degree of control in regards to managing your network resources and accommodating the connectivity requirements of your games. The XR500 router is now available for purchase with a recommended price of $299.99 in the United States, whereas the GS810EMX switch already boasts global availability and has the same price tag attached to it.
The San Jose, California-based company also announced NETGEAR Armor, a Bitdefender-powered security service compatible with any one of its routers that’s meant to protect your Internet-enabled devices from any external threats ranging from traditional viruses to phishing attempts, in addition to sporting anti-spam features. The platform can perform automatic vulnerability assessments in order to advise you on how to best proceed with protecting your home systems and comes with traditional URL blocking capabilities. NETGEAR’s solution can protect everything from Windows and macOS-powered computers to Android and iOS devices, the company said, adding that the subscription service will soon be made available via a firmware update for its Nighthawk AC2300 Smart WiFi router (R7000P) before making its way to other products from its portfolio. While the solution is priced at $69.99 per year, all customers with NETGEAR-made routers will be able to enjoy a free trial period spanning three months.
The tech firm is now also expanding its family of NETGEAR for Business Insight Managed Smart Cloud Switches with two 28-port additions meant to provide its customers with even more versatility and choice when deciding on their cloud-based network switches. The NETGEAR for Business Insight platform can be purchased on two subscription plans, with the more accessible one being Insight Basic that can be used with up to two devices for free, whereas every additional client will set you back $4.99 per year. The main limitation of the base subscription is that it’s only available in the form of a management app for Android and iOS devices, whereas Insight Premium supports the same app but can also be accessed via a newly redesigned website and sports some additional features such as POE scheduling and smart Wi-Fi roaming. Insight Premium has a monthly device fee of $0.99, though you’re also able to save some money by opting for a yearly subscription that goes for $9.99 per device. The newly announced 28-port switches start at $329.99 and will begin shipping next month, whereas pre-orders should soon be available from NETGEAR’s distribution partners.
Finally, NETGEAR’s CES appearance also led to the announcement of two new networking switches – the XS512EM and XS724EM. Much like their names suggest, these are 12-port and 24-port offerings with five levels of speed identical to the ones supported by the GS810EMX gaming switch. QoS, VLAN, and multicasting are supported by both models, as are robust digital protections and features meant to minimize potential network downtimes. Industry professionals are already able to purchase the two models which are available on a global level, being sold by both NETGEAR and its partners. The XS512EM is priced at $899.99, whereas the XS724EM that comes with twice as many ports will set you back $1699.99. Customers outside of the U.S. may end up paying slightly higher prices, depending on their exact retailer and shipping arrangements of choice.
