The DGN3500 is one of Netgear's new range of wireless-N capable ADSL routers which are replacing the DGxxxx range. This model supports wireless speeds up to 300 Mbps and has gigabit ethernet ports. It also has a USB port for connecting USB storage devices, but not printers or other types of USB device.
(Note) Anyone thinking of buying this router should be aware that the cheapest suppliers at the present time are offering model DGN3500-100PES, which is not the UK model. It comes with some weird filters which are no use in the UK, and a 2-pin power plug, but is otherwise identical to the UK model DGN3500-100UKS. I bought mine for £79 from Pixmania and made my own arrangements for the power supply and ADSL filtering.
Physically this router has the same style as earlier Netgear routers, but is coloured black and is substantially bigger than the DGxxxx range - see picture below, beside a DG834GT. A notable feature is a big button in the middle of the top face, which automates the setting up of secured wireless connections with compatible devices. I haven't tested this feature. There is no external wireless aerial, but it has three internal aerials. I mounted the router vertically, using the supplied clip-on feet, and in this position there is only the barest feeling of warmth anywhere on its surface.
Setting up the router is much the same as with earlier models. You have the choice of running a wizard from the included CD (Windows only), or configuring it from its web interface (any OS). The web interface offers the choice of a wizard or a purely manual setup. Whichever method you choose, you'll probably only have to enter your ISP username and password, with everything else automatically detected. This takes very little time, and I was soon up and running.
This router has an Infineon chipset (that's the company which took over TI's ADSL business a couple of years ago and fixed a problem with their AR7 chipset firmware). The AR7 was renowned for its ability to hold onto a connection down to very low noise margins, and I was interested to see if this new chipset has the same capability. This is very much work-in-progress, but first impressions are good. It connected during daylight at a higher speed than I've been getting with the DG834GT, and didn't drop the connection when the noise margin fell low at night. I'll be keeping an eye on this to see how it progresses over time.
Wireless performance is good, but I have no real means of testing its limits. A laptop taken to the end of my garden (~25 metres) continued to download data at good speed.
The gigabit LAN seems to perform as expected, with data transfers being noticeably faster than with the earlier 100 Mbit components. I'll be taking some measurements later to try to quantify this.
ConclusionsFirst impressions are very favourable. A lot more time and testing is needed before I can reach firm conclusions, but it seems to be a well designed and constructed product which is unlikely to disappoint.
