PC Magazine, one of the oldest and most respected publications serving the computer industry, has awarded the DIR-855 its coveted "Editors' Choice" designation, calling the device "King" of home wireless routers.

Praising the unit as "feature-rich in all the right places," magazine reviewer and networking expert Oliver Rist stated that the DIR-855 is "faster than our previous dual-band king."

"Everything about this wireless bit blaster stands out, starting with the design," Rist added, noting its generous top-mounted OLED screen that he acknowledges is "large enough to display sophisticated menus and show a snapshot of the router's current state and configuration."

In reviewing the DIR-855 management console, Rist writes, "... I smile just thinking about it. Good times. It's based on the same software you may have seen in other D-Link router products. The interface is stable, and it supports some cool features unique to the Xtreme N Duo."

Regarding performance, Rist noted, "The DIR-855 can run in either the 2.4-GHz or 5-GHz wireless spectrum or in both simultaneously. That means you can keep the kids and their older wireless-g notebooks in the 2.4-GHz spectrum, but use the 5-GHz band for your new office notebook with the wireless-n network card."

The publication also singles out the D-Link Xtreme N Duo Media Router for its extensive list of expanded features, including "dynamic DNS, e-mail alerts, a syslog connection, local or NTP time settings, UPnP support, even an embedded Ping test," adding, "There's a lot more to the DIR-855 -- enough both to make this device suitable as a high-end home router and to render it easily able to handle routing for a small office."

DIR-855 Key Features and Benefits:

• Superior performance over competing 802.11n routers with simultaneous dual band (2.4 and 5GHz) operation
• On-board OLED Network Activity Display for quick view of network performance -- Wi-Fi Protected Setup to quickly and easily create and connect to a secure wireless network
• Intelligent Wireless Prioritization Technology
• Award-winning QoS engine enables digital telephony "clear calls" and accelerates seamless interactive processing of packets in applications like online gaming and other remote data intensive connectivity processing delivering an outstanding Internet experience
• Works with existing wireless 802.11g and 11b devices
• Gigabit Ethernet ports for optimal speed for wired network
• Advanced wireless network security with WPA or WPA2 encryption
• Dual active firewalls to protect network from Internet attacks
• Expanded home Wi-Fi coverage
• Simple and easy installation with D-Link Quick Router Setup

The D-Link DIR-855 is available through D-Link's network of retail outlets, value-added resellers, solution providers and distributors, or at the company's online store, for the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $299.99.

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