D-Link DIR-825 Router Review

D-Link has introduced its latest wireless draft N router to the market. The router is an upgrade to D-Link DIR 655 and now also supports dual band. The router has incorporated new features such as SharePort technology and the USB port accepts almost any USB device.

D-Link DIR-825 Router specifications :

• Dimensions : 7.6″ x 4.6″ x 1.2″
• Weight : 11.2 oz
• Connectivity : Wired, Wireless
• Data link protocol : Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11a, Ethernet,
  Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n (draft 2.0)
• Features : Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), Firewall protection,
  Quality of Service (QoS), VPN passthrough,
  Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), NAT support
• Antenna : External detachable
• Encryption : WPA, WPA2
• Power Supply : External
• OS : Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista, Apple MacOS X 10.4
• Approx. price : $140

The D-Link DIR-825 is very much similar to its predecessor but it has only two antennas instead of three. The dimensions of the router are on the higher side, covering up more real estate but the router can be wall mounted to save some of it. It also works in vertical position if you like it that way.

The router supports true-dual band capability. You can set it to have separate SSIDs for each frequency. The SharePort technology is really helpful as it lets you share a USB device across the network by connecting it to the router’s USB port. Although to use this feature you need to have SharePort Network USB software installed across your networked PCs. Its major drawback is that the attached device can be accessed by only a single networked PC at a time.

Some other features that is supports are Windows Connect allowing you to connect a wireless client with the help of a thumb drive. The USB port also offers support for 3G USB adapter which can be used to access internet via an EVDO cellular signal.

The router has mixed performance for both the frequencies. The maximum throughput test yielded 102Mbps and 70Mbps for 5GHz and 2.4GHz frequencies respectively. In mixed mode test on 2.4GHz frequency, the router could only notch 40Mbps which is highly dissappointing. The range of the router is good at 270 feet for both the frequencies.

Pros :

• True-dual band capability
• SharePort feature
• Easy to set up
• 3G USB adapter support

Cons :

• Large dimensions
• Slow mixed mode performance

Final Thoughts

The D-Link DIR-825 router puts some good features on the table. The SharePort feature is extremely useful  and support for 3G USB adapter is a bonus. The dual band capability is well implemented coupled with easy set up of the router. Large dimensions and slow mixed mode performance are its downsides.

My Rating : 3.5/5