Western Digital Joins The Networking Market Releases Five Wireless Routers

Western Digital is a name synonymous with the hard drive and storage market. So when you hear the company has released a new networking device your first thought is likely geared towards a new network attached hard drive or NAS server or possibly even a new media streaming device like the WD Live TV box. But today the company announced the release of its very first wireless home networking devices which includes five new routers in a new category called the My Net family.

Most companies would generally start of small with a couple entry level devices meant for the everyday mainstream consumer. Not Western Digital, they cam out of the box swinging. WD entered the market with five brand new Dual-Band Routers, all of which proclaim 600Mbs speeds or better.

Their new My Net Family Dual-Band Routers starts with the My Net N600, a true dual-band router that offers 300Mbps on both the 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands. The next step-up is the My Net N750, which boosts the speeds to 450Mbps on the 5GHz, and finally there's the top-tier My Net N900, which offers the 450Mbps data rate on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. The top tiered, My Net N900, also comes with seven Gigabit LAN ports (as opposed to the four ports found in most wireless routers), and range amplifier antennas for extended range.  Both the My Net N750 and My Net N900 feature 2 USB ports for additional storage, printer and media share server use, while the My Net N600 features just a sigle port.

But wait I said they released five routers. Yes in-deed they did. They introduced two offerings dubbed the My Net N900 Central that I personally would love to test drive.

The My Net N900 Central is a router NAS,/Cloud Server all-in-one. It comes with either a 1TB or 2TB hard drive built-in. This router is built for HD streaming or wireless backup and remote access. The My Net N900 Central includes 4 LAN and 1 WLAN Gigabit Ethernet ports for up to 10/100/1000 Mbps wired speeds, 1 USB port for additional storage, printer and media share server use.

Remote access to My Net N900 Central is available on any computer through www.WD2go.com and with WD mobile apps for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch or Android smartphones and tablets. In addition to keeping content safe at home and always accessible while away from home, users can rely on My Net N900 Central for automatic wireless backup with the included WD SmartWare software for Windows, while Mac users can utilize all the features of Apple Time Machine backup software. Additionally, any WD external hard drive with SmartWare software can connect directly to a My Net router to wirelessly backup all PC computers in the home.

Collectively, all five of WD's My Net routers support FastTrack, UPnP and DLNA media streaming standards, Time Machine, and personal cloud storage. FasTrack technology detects Internet favorites like Netflix and YouTube and automatically prioritizes them for smooth HD streaming. FastTrack is basically a type of QoS (quality of service) that automatically detects and prioritizes Internet bandwidth based on types of traffic. By default FastTrack allows entertainment-related services -- such as media streaming, VoIP (voice over IP), and so on -- precedence over other services, such as Web surfing and downloading. FastTrack Plus, available in the N900 and N900 Central routers, offers support for more simultaneous data streams at a time than the standard FastTrack, available in the N600 and N750 routers.

Pricing starts at $79.99 for the My Net N600, $119.99 for the My Net N750 and $179.99 My Net N900. If you want to step-up to the My Net N900 Central with built in storage it's going to cost you. The 1TB My Net N900 Central runs $299.99 while the 2TB version will set you back $349.99. My Net N900, My Net N750, and the My Net N600 will be available immediately at select U.S. retailers and online at the wdstore.com. My Net N900 Central will be available next quarter.