Performance Study Conducted by Lionbridge Technologies Demonstrates NETGEAR RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N Product Family Delivers Best-In-Class Speed and Range When Compared to Draft 11n-Compliant Wireless Products from Competitors


SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 4 // -- NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR), a worldwide provider of technologically advanced, branded networking products, today announced the results of a performance study of leading draft 802.11n-compliant wireless products that reported NETGEAR's RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N product family produced the highest throughput speeds and longest ranges of all products included in the testing. The competitive analysis, which was conducted in a real-world residential environment by Lionbridge Technologies, Inc., compared draft 802.11n-compliant wireless routers and adapters from NETGEAR, Linksys, D-Link, and Belkin.

According to the report published by VeriTest, which can be viewed online at veritest.com/clients/reports/netgear, NETGEAR's RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N Router Gigabit Edition (WNR854T) was the top-performing wireless router in the comparison. The WNR854T, when paired with the RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N USB 2.0 Adapter (WN121T), delivered the highest throughput speeds (up to two times faster than the competition) and maintained stable connections at short, mid and even at extended distances where the competing routers would disconnect or become unstable. The report also tested interoperability across different Wireless-N semiconductor vendors and found NETGEAR's RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N routers interoperating with different Wireless-N adapters using different chipsets, without compromising performance.

The tests also found the RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N ADSL2+ Modem Router (DG834N) and NETGEAR RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N Router to be the performance leaders in their respective categories (ADSL2+ modem routers and draft 11n 10/100 Ethernet routers). Comparing the performance of RangeMax NEXT Wireless- N routers to equipment based upon current 802.11g technology, throughput speeds were up to 15 times faster and ranges up to 10 times greater, proving that the RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N products were capable of streaming HD quality video even at long distances when used with RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N adapters. The tests also reported minimum impact to performance, range and throughput with 128-bit WPA2 security enabled on the RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N network.

Key findings reported in the Wireless Performance Study:
o On average, NETGEAR's RangeMax NEXT Gigabit Edition with RangeMax NEXT USB 2.0 adapter configuration transferred up to 2x faster than the competition.
o NETGEAR achieved the strongest short, mid, and long range throughputs.
o NETGEAR maintained a strong and reliable connection in heavy interference or long range conditions.

"The results of this third party competitive analysis of draft-11n products is very exciting to NETGEAR and our customers as it provides indisputable evidence of the quality and performance of our RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N product family," stated Vivek Pathela, NETGEAR Vice President of Product Marketing. "These test results are of particular significance to our customers as they demonstrate NETGEAR's extensive engineering efforts to bringing to market draft 11n-compliant products that deliver today on the 802.11n promises of high speed, extended range, interoperability, and stable and reliable signal connectivity. NETGEAR is continuously working to improve the overall performance and user experience of the products as the 802.11n specification moves closer to ratification to maintain our position of our RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N product family as the industry's top-performing, most-reliable, and easiest-to-setup-and-use wireless networking solution. In addition, because our engineers continue to work aggressively with the chipset vendors to drive higher levels of performance while ensuring interoperability between chipsets, we're leading the industry in the drive toward full high- speed interoperability between draft 11n chipsets from the various manufacturers."

About RangeMax NEXT

RangeMax NEXT offers the most complete family of draft 802.11n-compliant wireless products, including:
o RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N Router Gigabit Edition with 10/100/1000 Switch (WNR854T)
o RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N Notebook Adapter Gigabit Edition (WN511T)
o RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N Router with 10/100 Switch (WNR834B/M)
o RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N ADLS 2+ Modem Router with 10/100 Switch (DG834N)
o RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N Notebook Adapter (WN511B/T)
o RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N PCI Adapter (WN311B/T)
o RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N USB 2.0 Adapter (WN121T)
o RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N Access Point (WN802T)

The NETGEAR RangeMax NEXT wireless product family delivers speeds of up to 300 Mbps utilizing an advanced internal antenna design to automatically optimize performance. These internal antennas are incorporated into NETGEAR's newest industrial design casing, providing the NEXT generation of style for which NETGEAR has been recognized with design awards worldwide. NETGEAR's RangeMax NEXT wireless product family provides users with all the great range of RangeMax while incorporating NETGEAR's new "Steady Stream" technology to deliver the stable connections required for signal-quality-sensitive applications such as streaming high-definition videos throughout the entire home and making Internet telephone calls. All RangeMax NEXT products are manufactured and tested with NETGEAR's unique "11n-True Test" process to ensure the highest performance possible for any draft 802.11n products.

The RangeMax NEXT wireless product family provides the security and ease of use that NETGEAR is known for with a robust set of features including: NAT and SPI firewalls, Touchless WiFi Security, 64- and 128-bit WEP encryption, Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key (WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK), Denial of Service (DoS) attack protection, Intrusion Detection and Prevention (IDS), and Exposed Host (DMZ) for secure gaming.

About NETGEAR, Inc.

NETGEAR designs technologically advanced, branded networking products that address the specific needs of small and medium business and home users. The Company's product offerings enable users to share Internet access, peripherals, files, digital multimedia content and applications among multiple personal computers and other Internet-enabled devices. NETGEAR is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.netgear.com or call (408) 907-8000.

NOTE: NETGEAR, the NETGEAR Logo and RangeMax are trademarks or registered trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Information is subject to change without notice. All rights reserved. All signal rates indicated herein are estimates only under ideal operating conditions. Actual data throughput will vary. Network conditions and environmental factors, including volume of network traffic, building materials and construction, and network overhead, lower actual data throughput.

Web site: www.netgear.com/

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