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Seven 'router' stories August 2015 - March 2016
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9to5Toys Last Call: Google OnHub $160, Nexus 5X 16GB (unlocked) $250, LG G4 32GB (unlocked) $290, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 21 2016 - 3:04 pm PT
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TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:

Google OnHub Wireless AC1900 Router w/ hand gesture control: $160 shipped (Orig. $220)

LG Nexus 5X 16GB (Factory GSM Unlocked) for $250 shipped (Orig. $379) | eBay

LG G4 w/ 32GB flash GSM 4G LTE (factory unlocked): $290 shipped (Orig. $460)

Travel light w/ Apple’s 11-inch MacBook Air 1.6GHz/4GB/128GB for $710 shipped (Reg. $899)

Save big on Apple’s newest laptops: Retina MacBook Pro $1,000 (Reg. $1,299)

Amazon Gold Box – Adobe Photoshop Elements 14 for Mac/PC disc or digital download: $50 (Orig. $100)

Affinity Photo: Apple’s Mac App of the Year 2015 is now matching its lowest price ever: $40 (Reg. $50)

Buy or upgrade Parallels ($49-$79) & get 7 Mac apps free: 1Password, Parallels Access, & more (Reg. $269)

2016 All-Star Mac Bundle brings together 11 high-quality apps: $20 (Orig. $263)

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

Amazon’s best-selling headphones: Audio-Technica ATH-M50X Over-Ears $100 shipped (Reg. $123+)

MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:

Smartphone Accessories: Aukey Bluetooth 4.1 Wireless Sport Headphones $15, more

How-to: Use your car and an inexpensive inverter to replace the need for a home generator

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

SpotCam’s latest IP surveillance camera offers records 24-hours of footage in the cloud for free

You can now mow your lawn via Apple Watch w/ Husqvarna’s new Automower app

Google thinks you might want to cover their $200 router with a $450 plywood slinky

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 8 2015 - 2:49 pm PT
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Since routers work better when they’re left out in the open (rather than hidden down in the depths of the cabinets of the desk in your 1st floor office), Google thought it would be a good idea to make that one of the main selling points of OnHub. The new router platform is actually a really pleasant experience as a router (and looks a lot better than most of the current options), but the TP-LINK model’s price tag is just really hard to swallow. And rather than introducing a cheaper OnHub, Google recently decided to launch a more expensive one from ASUS.

Not much about the OnHub makes sense at this point, at least from my perspective.

Now (in hopes of making the platform more attractive?), Google has launched three new stylish covers for the already-$200 TP-LINK router. The Mountain View company is calling them shells, and they’re available in both bamboo and plastic. Oh, and Google is inviting creators to create their own shells as well through OnHub Makers…


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Google’s OnHub router gets an iFixit teardown, scores 4/10 in repairability

Avatar for Stephen Hall Sep 16 2015 - 9:42 am PT
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In case you didn’t know, iFixit, known for its disassembly instructions and teardowns, does more than just smartphones. We may find the repairability of of our handsets to be just one more benchmark to compare different brands, but who says we can’t do that with routers too? Google’s OnHub router is one of the first of its kind, and it turns out that it’s not super easy to repair…

Hardware over the years has definitely become more attractive to the eye, but repairing these devices has gotten a lot more difficult at the expense of unibody designs and huge glass screens. The OnHub is kind of similar. Unlike the routers of old that were basically just a couple of screws away from full disassembly, the OnHub is held together with clips and has fragile parts.

To give you an idea, iFixit only listed one thing clearly positive about the OnHub: The device’s speaker is replaceable. But it’s all downhill from there. Assembled mostly with clips that iFixit found to be easily broken, the OnHub has most ports on one board (meaning solder will likely be needed), tiny fragile antenna connectors, and its build is overall fairly complex.

If you want to read more about the details of the OnHub’s hardware, head over to iFixit.

Early reviews of Google’s first OnHub router say it’s impressive but value isn’t yet known

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Aug 31 2015 - 7:48 am PT
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I suspect most of us had the same reaction when Google announced its OnHub wireless router: it sounds impressive, but could it really be worth $200? The early reviews are in, and the verdict seems to be that … it depends.

On the plus side, everyone agrees that setup is utterly painless (possibly a first for any router), and the performance is impressive. On the downside, techies may be disappointed at the lack of configurability, and the fact that you can get better performance for the money.

But as ArsTechnica notes in the final excerpt, the $64,000 (or $200) question is – what will it turn into in future … ? 
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Google OnHub companion app hits the Play Store, boasts innovative setup and simple UI

Avatar for Cam Bunton Aug 31 2015 - 6:02 am PT
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To coincide with the launch of its brand new OnHub wireless router, Google has released the companion app on the Play Store. The app is notable for several reasons. Firstly, it reveals some of the setup details and secondly, the router management options look so ridiculously simple, they almost seem too good to be true.
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