We reviewed the original Belkin Pre-N Router nearly 18 months ago. It also won our interim-next-generation group test in PC Plus 235. So what’s new with this box? It’s got an ADSL modem, the chipset’s the same, the footprint’s a little bigger and it costs a bit more. If you want MIMO and have an ADSL line, this is the kit to buy. It’s interesting its genesis has taken so long; we first learned of its intended release in the late summer. Has it arrived too late?

Now that we’re in the year of 802.11n, Belkin’s description of its MIMO series as ‘Pre-N’ looks increasingly ill-considered. The problem with such marketing is not that it’s non-descriptive, more that it’s soon going to replaced with a fully ratified standard. The Wi-Fi Alliance has finally decided what the 802.11n standard will consist of, so we’re hearing noises from manufacturers that they’ll be offering firmware-upgradeable options from June or July onwards. What will Belkin call its new mid-year kit now that it has expended the Pre-N moniker?

Whatever the arguments surrounding the timing of this kit, there’s no doubt that the addition of the ADSL modem to an already impressive MIMO router makes it tremendously appealing. You should be able to find it for considerably less than the price we’ve listed here, too. It’s far more impressive a solution than the last all-in-one we looked at – the Linksys WAG54GX2 ADSL Gateway with SRX200, which was reviewed in PC Plus 239. The SRX200 features a cut-down version of the Airgo chipset that can be found in here. Remember that if you want to get the best throughput out of this router, you’ll have to use Belkin’s proprietary adaptors – both PC Card and PCI variants are available for about £50 each.

You could wait six months for the first 802.11n kit, but there is a lot to like here – after all, it’s the best combination of the fastest technology currently available and the ADSL modem router that’s the ideal centre for your network. There’s still the nagging doubt that to buy one of the current raft of proprietary MIMO/Pre-N/RangeMax/SRX solutions could be foolish, but this is the best solution around at the moment.