NETGEAR 802.11AC ROUTER GOES FASTER AND FARTHER WITH BEAMFORMING+

SAN JOSE, Calif. — April 22, 2013 — NETGEAR ^® , Inc. (NASDAQGM: NTGR) (www.netgear.com) , a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers, today announced support for Beamforming+ (www.netgear.com/80211ac) on the NETGEAR R6300 802.11ac Dual Band Gigabit WiFi Router and the NETGEAR A6200 802.11ac Dual Band WiFi USB Adapter (www.netgear.com/landing/fastestwifi/) . Beamforming+ is also available through a free firmware upgrade for current NETGEAR customers of the R6300 WiFi Router and the A6200 WiFi USB Adapter. The new router firmware improves WiFi performance and range when connecting to other WiFi devices. You’ll see even more improvement in WiFi performance and reliability when you connect your R6300 Router to a PC or laptop configured with an A6200 Adapter or with an 802.11ac device with Beamforming support. A second R6300 acting as a client bridge would also provide a higher performance solution for critical video over WiFi applications.

NETGEAR Beamforming+ is a smart, signal-focusing technology that extends coverage, reduces interference and dead spots, and boosts the speed of your 802.11ac WiFi connections. Beamforming+ refers to NETGEAR’s implementation of the Beamforming standard with a fine-tuned WiFi design for improved WiFi range and performance, which the company demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

NETGEAR Beamforming+ recognizes the location of a wireless device on your network and directs the WiFi signal directly at the device, constantly checking and tracking moving devices such as your mobile phones and tablets. This targeted approach amplifies the WiFi signal by adjusting the phase of the transmitted signal, delivering stable WiFi connections for voice and video. The result is a highly tuned WiFi network that optimizes overall wireless performance and delivers the experiences you want, such as fast downloads, clearer voice calls, uninterrupted HD video, and lag-free gaming.

“Beamforming is the next big thing in WiFi signal technology, and NETGEAR is proud to bring it to you on our market-leading 802.11ac wireless products. 802.11ac is the wireless standard you need to support the increasingly heavy demands on your network for voice, video and data,” said Sandeep Harpalani, NETGEAR director of product marketing for retail networking products. “With NETGEAR Beamforming+, we raise the bar further by providing significant improvement in performance, especially at long distances where connection speeds and reliability are challenging. Our test data demonstrates that when we enable Beamforming+ on our R6300 WiFi Router, we see performance increase by 60 percent at a distance of around 50 feet when connecting to an 802.11ac device.”

802.11ac for the World’s Fastest WiFi Connections

The next evolution in wireless technology, the upcoming 802.11ac wireless standard is the world’s fastest WiFi, providing Gigabit WiFi speeds so you can download web content faster and synchronize large video or music files more quickly. The increased speed of 802.11ac technology is ideal for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets by providing three times the performance for a similar amount of battery consumption of devices using the current 802.11n WiFi standard. As a result, many companies are now releasing smartphones with 802.11ac WiFi, such as the Samsung Galaxy S®4 and the HTC One®, with additional 802.11ac-enabled smartphones, tablets and TVs from other leading manufacturers anticipated to debut in the coming year.

In 2012, NETGEAR was the first to announce an 802.11ac product family to take advantage of the upcoming standard. The NETGEAR R6300 WiFi Router is the industry’s first 802.11ac router offering Gigabit speeds and supports combined WiFi speeds up to 1750 Mbps (450 Mbps @ 2.4 Ghz 802.11n + 1300 Mbps @ 5 Ghz 802.11ac). The R6300 is backward compatible with 802.11a/b/g/n to provide optimum interoperability with legacy WiFi devices and maintaining maximum performance on 802.11n wireless networks. The NETGEAR A6200 WiFi Adapter is the industry’s first-to-market 802.11ac dual band WiFi USB adapter that enables you to easily upgrade your existing PC or laptop to 802.11ac performance.

Availability
Download the Beamforming+ firmware to enhance the R6300 WiFi Router from the NETGEAR support site: http://support.netgear.com/product/r6300 . You can upgrade your A6200 WiFi Adapter here: http://support.netgear.com/product/A6200 . The Beamforming+ firmware update for all other NETGEAR 802.11ac routers is anticipated for early summer.

More Information
Learn more about NETGEAR 802.11ac products at www.netgear.com/fastestwifi . To learn about 802.11ac WiFi, including Beamforming, go to www.netgear.com/80211ac. January 2013 Retail Tracking Service data from global information company The NPD Group shows NETGEAR to be the market share leader, in both units and dollars, in 802.11ac wireless routers.

About NETGEAR, Inc.
NETGEAR (NASDAQGM: NTGR) is a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers. For consumers, the company makes high performance, dependable and easy to use home networking, storage and digital media products to connect people with the Internet and their content and devices. For businesses, NETGEAR provides networking, storage and security solutions without the cost and complexity of big IT. The company also supplies top service providers with retail proven, whole home solutions for their customers. NETGEAR products are built on a variety of proven technologies such as wireless, Ethernet and Powerline, with a focus on reliability and ease-of-use. NETGEAR products are sold in approximately 35,000 retail locations around the globe, and through approximately 41,000 value-added resellers. The company's headquarters are in San Jose, Calif., with additional offices in over 25 countries. More information is available at www.NETGEAR.com or by calling (408) 907-8000. Connect with NETGEAR at twitter.com/NETGEAR and www.facebook.com/NETGEAR .

© 2013 NETGEAR, Inc. NETGEAR and the NETGEAR logo are registered trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Samsung Galaxy S is a registered trademark of Samsung. HTC One is a registered trademark of HTC Corporation. Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Information is subject to change without notice. All rights reserved.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for NETGEAR, Inc.: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Specifically, statements concerning NETGEAR's business and the expected performance characteristics, specifications, reliability, market acceptance, market growth, specific uses, user feedback and market position of NETGEAR's products and technology are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the following: the actual price, performance and ease of use of NETGEAR's products may not meet the price, performance and ease of use requirements of customers; product performance may be adversely affected by real world operating conditions; failure of products may under certain circumstances cause permanent loss of end user data; new viruses or Internet threats may develop that challenge the effectiveness of security features in NETGEAR's products; the ability of NETGEAR to market and sell its products and technology; the impact and pricing of competing products; and the introduction of alternative technological solutions. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect NETGEAR and its business are detailed in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties listed in the section entitled “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors,” pages 10 through 29, in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 26, 2013. NETGEAR undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

 

U.S. Media Contact:
Jeff Norris, Weber Shandwick for NETGEAR, (408) 530-8458, JNorris2@webershandwick.com
U.S. Sales Inquiries: (408) 907-8000, sales@netgear.com
U.S. Customer Inquiries: (888) NETGEAR