Cisco recently announced two new 'simple design' wireless router products that will give home owners the chance to setup their wireless Internet connections in a quick, hassle free way.
The basic wireless router model is the Valet, but Cisco will offer at least one other model for consumers.
The company will include the Valet Plus router alongside Valet, and will also sell the Valet Connector, giving aging PCs without wireless support a way to get online without wires. The Valet is designed for smaller networks of wireless devices – and it retails for $99. The Valet Plus includes support for wired and wireless devices, with a $149.99 MSRP.
A Cisco Valet Connector is available for $79.99.
"Valet is home wireless made easy," said Jonathan Kaplan, Cisco Consumer Products Senior VP, in a statement. "With complementary backgrounds and expertise, our Cisco and Flip teams have combined forces to change the rules for home wireless with a product line that empowers consumers to easily set up, enjoy and manage all of their wireless devices anywhere in their homes."
Although Cisco is marketing it as a simple, easy-to-use product, this New York Times Blog shows just how easy the process was during a mock installation. The author noted it was fairly painless -- though a home network printer or storage device cannot be configured since the Valet doesn't have a USB port.
As someone who has had to setup and troubleshoot wireless networks for my neighbors, I hope products such as the Cisco Valet catch on in the future.
