NEW YORK: You’re just about to settle down to a Netflix marathon or a spot of online gaming, and what happens? Your internet goes down.
In all likelihood, something’s happened to your router, and if you want your Wi-Fi back, you’re going to have to interpret its flashing array of red and amber warning lights to get back online, or spend hours on hold to tech support.
Well Google says it doesn’t have to be this way. The internet giant has announced OnHub; a cylindrical device that it claims is “the new way to Wi-Fi”.
Launched in partnership with networking group TP-LINK, OnHub will find faster connections and allow owners to detect problems more easily, Google says.
The OnHub’s antenna are located inside the device, rather than protruding from the top, which Google says will make people more willing to have it out in the open, where it can beam a better signal. It will also scan the airwaves for free radio frequencies, and select the one that is most likely to give the best connection.
Users will be able prioritise devices, so if a laptop needs a stronger connection than your internet radio, that can be arranged. Rather than negotiating a typical router’s buttons, the OnHub is controlled via a smartphone app. And Google says the device is also future-proofed for the smart home future, supporting Bluetooth and Weave, its connected home communication technology.
“While we count on Wi-Fi more than ever to be entertained, productive, and stay connected, we’re streaming and sharing in new ways our old routers were never built to handle,” the company said.
Of course, it’s more expensive than your average router, with Google opening pre-orders at $199.99 (Around £130, although UK pricing and launch has not been announced). And you have to be comfortable with Google making yet another in-road into your everyday life.
