Google has just released OnHub, a Wi-Fi router that looks sleek and is ready to serve a smart home filled with wireless compatible devices. As part of the Google Brillo program, the gadget can be set up using a destined app. The company promises it will teach the regular routers a lesson or two and will be ready to offer high-quality signal for many different clients simultaneously.
On the other hand, the price of $200 is considerable, which brought some amount of criticism. Another reason for disappointment was the recent device dismantling done by the hardware experts at iFixit. Google offers little to no official documentation on taking the device apart, so the company, which specializes in posting free guides to repairing gadgets, accepted the challenge.
They worked around the firm clip system that holds the router in one piece but found dismantling most parts to be mind-bendingly complicated. For the average tech user, the speaker module is about the only part that one can quickly replace. Unlocking other components from the structure and replacing them are beyond the skills or patience of regular customers, and the 14 antennae are just an example of that. That is why OnHub got a shameful score of 4 out of 10 from iFixit in regard to repairability.
The configuration of OnHub shows a dual-core 1.4 GHz Qualcomm Atheros IPQ8064 processor, 1GB DDR3L RAM and 4GB of onboard flash storage, even if it is unclear what the storage space is for. The router can host dual band 2.4GHz and 5GHz antenna array, with IEEE 802 b/g/n/a. From the 12 separate antennae, six of them can work at 2.4GHz and the rest at 5GHz. Two antennae are on top of the device, summing up a total of 14. The device, which is Bluetooth 4.0 compatible, has a speaker and a light sensor that provides color-coded signals, indicating its functioning stage. A USB 3.0 and one Ethernet entry are on the back of the router.
Experts also claim that the environment OnHub was conceived for is vaguely utopian, as the balance between cable and wireless in most contemporary homes is still inclined toward the first. With a prohibitive price and a user-friendliness of near null, OnHub might be an attractive purchase for professionals only.
