Worked right out of the box

I needed a wireless router with great range and coverage. There are a lot of Pre-n routers that are inexpensive and reportedly better performance than regular wireless-g routers, but they have a limited future in my mind. I wanted at least a Draft-n router. The WRT150N was the choice for me. I was comfortable with Linksys since I've experience with them. The router is Draft 802.11n version 1.0 ready. Only time will tell whether Linksys will or can update this router through a firmware update to full wireless-n spec once it's ratified.

It's been a few days and I ran my tests on original firmware v1.00.5 and have had no problems. A newer version is available for download as of 4/23/07. I Didn't need to run the accompanying installation CD like instructed since I'm familiar with Linksys and their router setups. I simply connected all cables and was off surfing in no time.

I used a Mac Book Pro(C2D) which has wireless-n capability. One caveat is you have to pay Apple $2 to enable it. I opted not to do so and stuck with wireless-g. I configured the router to use PSK2 Personal security using AES encryption. That's as secure as you can get with these consumer-level routers. I experienced no performance hit. I had strong coverage throughout my two floor house. I don't think I need to enable wireless-n for better range at the present time.

For my test setup, I had the laptop connected wirelessly to the router and a desktop to the ethernet port. I transferred a 130 MB file from the desktop to the laptop and timed how long it took to finish. I had to change the standard channel setting to 11 to get the results I got. Overall, performance was near the expected throughput for wireless-g(~25 mbps). With ethernet I saw ~80 mbps throughput. Web surfing was uneventful and I can't say I notice a difference between wired or wireless. I'll have to test wireless-n in the near future.

What do I like about this router? I like the up-to-date security features. I like that you can set the time and days you want to enable internet access. You can prioritize internet usage with the Wireless QoS. So, if you set gaming with high priority, then the router will do its best to reduce lag while you're online playing games and put everything else on the back-burner let's say.

It's a nice looking router. It's much smaller than my Linksys BEFSR41 router; however, it does run hotter due to the radio transceiver I would guess. It only comes with one year warranty.