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Actiontec's gone wireless for gaming

by: John -
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Ok this news is a little old but I thought I'd post it up. Actiontec has announced a 54 Mbps Wireless Game Adapter that uses your wireless G network to attached your game console to the Internet. Look for a review of the product soon.
WIRELESS-ENABLE YOUR PLAYSTATION 2 OR XBOX FOR ONLINE OR HEAD-TO-HEAD GAMING WITH ACTIONTEC’S 54 MBPS GAME ADAPTER

Plug In and Start Playing --- No Cabling Needed

LAS VEGAS (2005 International CES, January 7, 2005) --- It’s hard to know which is worse: trying to pretend that you’re a warrior, wizard or secret agent when you have mile-long wires dangling from your game console, or not being able to play online or multiplayer games at all because you don’t have an Internet cable running from your router to your family room. The new Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless Game Adapter solves both problems by enabling your Xbox™ or PlayStation®2 to hitch a ride on your wireless home network without the need for any cabling.

This small hardware device from Actiontec Electronics contains built-in 802.11g wireless technology that allows a game console to communicate with a wireless router for high-speed gaming with another player in the house or across the world without a wired connection. Just plug the adapter into the Ethernet port on the back of your console with the cable provided in the package, find an online gaming companion, and escape to the world of Madden NFL 2005, Need For Speed Underground 2 or Halo 2 over your cable or DSL superhighway.

Alternatively, two adapters can be used to permit head-to-head gaming with anyone in the house without an Internet connection; or one adapter can be used to wireless-enable a TiVo digital video recorder, a PC that doesn’t have a wireless card, or any other wired-Ethernet-ready device.

The product is fully compliant with the super-fast 802.11g wireless standard, allowing gaming moves to be exchanged at lightning speeds of up to 54 Mbps when used on a wireless network equipped with “Wireless-G” technology --- even if other members of the household are doing some heavy-duty surfing, chatting or emailing. The adapter is also backward-compatible with older 802.11b equipment, enabling blazing throughput of up to 11 Mbps.

The device supports 64- and 128-bit WEP security, and can be used in either infrastructure or ad-hoc mode.

Pricing, Specifications and Availability

The Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless Game Adapter is available now for $129.99 at www.actiontec.com. The package includes the adapter, an Ethernet cable for connecting the device to the game console, a power cord, a Quick Start Guide, and two separate CD-ROMs containing a user manual and a Windows configuration utility for setup on the home network Minimum system requirements include a gaming console with an available Ethernet port, an Internet connection for online gaming, and (for the configuration utility) a 200 Mhz Pentium PC running Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP with 64 MB RAM and a CD-ROM drive. An 802.11g or 802.11b-compliant wireless router is required for online gaming, while it may or may not be necessary for in-home multiplayer gaming depending on the network architecture.