It pays to have a thick skin if you’re a pioneer.
That’s what a couple of Orange County companies are finding after introducing gear based on the draft version of the latest wireless Internet technology.
Irvine-based Broadcom Corp., which makes wireless chips, and Cisco-Linksys LLC, which makes wireless Internet routers, have seen influential reviewers heap criticism on their products since hitting the market two months ago.
Other wireless products makers have been criticized, too, including Santa Clara-based router maker NetGear Inc. and Sunnyvale-based chipmaker Atheros Communications Inc.
The issues: slower Internet surfing speeds than expected, a shorter coverage area than promised and the inability of some products to work together.
“I was severely disappointed by the performance,” said reviewer Oliver Kaven, in an article in PC Magazine last month.
That’s bad news for companies that have talked up the potential of this new wireless gear, which is based on a standard with an alphabet soup of a name,802.11n, an upgrade from 802.11g.
The 802.11n gear is supposed to be at the forefront of the “digital home” that would see TVs, stereos, computers and other gear linked together in a high-speed network without wires.
Industry observers say there’s time to sort out the problems.
People first to use cutting-edge products are used to putting up with some early bugs.
“These products are clearly aimed at the hobbyist,” said Jonathan Gaw, an analyst with IDC Research Inc. in Framingham, Mass. “It’s buyer beware on some of these things.”
Gaw said the issues should be resolved and the companies would see rising sales in the months to come.
One company decided to delay the release of its 802.11n routers. Taiwan-based D-Link Corp., which has its North American headquarters in Fountain Valley, is tweaking its routers before releasing them for sale.
“We held back just a little bit, mainly because of some of the editorial reviews,” said Daniel Kelley, director of marketing for D-Link in Fountain Valley. “From our viewpoint it was good to hold off.”
The delay kept D-Link from the negative reviews, if nothing else. D-Link is the No. 2 seller for most of its wireless routers behind Cisco-Linksys in North America.
One sticking point with the new technology: The standards still are being worked out. Standards groups try to get companies making software, devices or peripheral products on the same page by creating a set of uniform rules so all the gear works together.
The 802.11n standards body isn’t expected to wrap up its work until the second quarter of next year. The existing chips and gear are based on what’s called “draft-N,” a preliminary standard.
Companies eventually will use software to make their products compatible with the final standard.
Most existing devices are receiving reviews ranging from “lukewarm” to “negative,” according to ABI Research in Oyster Bay, N.Y.
While wireless connections under 802.11n have high speeds at close range, the speeds fall off “rapidly with increasing distance,” according to Sam Lucero, an analyst with ABI Research, in a statement.
“Interoperability is neither as robust nor seamless as it should be,” Lucero said.
Broadcom was one of the first chip companies to announce “draft-N” chips early this year. Cisco-Linksys used chips from Broadcom, among others, to produce its first 802.11n products, company officials said.
Being first to come out with a product means getting shelf space at key retailers such as Circuit City and Best Buy.
“We needed to get our products out on the market around the same time if not before our competitors do,” said Eric Deming, senior product marketing manager for the home networking unit at Cisco-Linksys. “They’ll either put our competitors on the shelves or they’ll put us on the shelves.”
That doesn’t mean it was an easy decision, Deming said. As a product manager, he’d like the product to be as perfect as possible.
“It was an agonizing decision,” he said. “We delayed the launch of the product as long as we thought we could.”
Many early complaints have been taken care of with software upgrades.
Sales have “not been disappointing, especially for a new technology at a higher price,” said Trevor Bratton, a spokesman for Cisco-Linksys.
Bratton said sales would increase as the reviews turn positive.
Broadcom is confident it released its 802.11n chips at the right time.
“We have no regrets,” said Bill Bunch, director of product management in Broadcom’s wireless local area network group. “The technology in 802.11n is a huge upgrade.”
Broadcom made an unusual public relations move in late May by putting out a press release with competitor Atheros Communications. The companies touted the ability of their chips to work with each other, a concern for some reviewers.
The new “n” standard is expected to drive profitability for its wireless chip unit, said Chief Executive Scott McGregor, during a Broadcom conference call in April.
“I think eventually ‘n’ will take over the large share of the business, but it will be at medium speed,” he said. “I think you’ll get a lot of incremental stuff initially. I think the important thing for us is that this is a significant (average selling price) increase on ‘n’ versus ‘g.'”
Broadcom officials declined to comment on its 802.11n chip sales. The company said it’s seen nothing to belie McGregor’s comments.
Bunch said that sales will grow as the chips are put into different products, including cable modems and digital subscriber line boxes.
