Belkin has decided to let U.S. consumers help with an oversupply problem.
We were surprised the other day to receive an email from an alert reader asking when we were going to test Linksys’ EA6700 router. You know, the one Linksys told us back in April would not be sold in the U.S.?
So a short search later, we found that indeed, the EA6700 could be had for a mere $200 from NewEgg.
Linksys EA6700
So why the change of heart? According to my Linksys contact, it seems there was "extra production" that was offered to NewEgg, which took them. Supposedly, once the "extra production" is gone, that’s it; there are no plans to restock.
But Linksys apparently decided to not let NewEgg have all the fun, since the EA6700 is now also available direct from the Linksys online store. You’ll pay more there ($210), but until August 31 you can get 5% off with coupon code HSBTS5 (which gets you the NewEgg price), or free two-day shipping with code HSFREE2DAY. You also get a 90 day money back guarantee by ordering from Linksys.
Or, you could skip it altogether. According to Hardware.info’s comprehensive review, the EA6700’s USB 3.0 port provided only a modest throughput boost reading from a USB 3.0 drive: 23 MB/s vs. 17 MB/s for USB 2.0. Write throughput was the same for both USB flavors at 15 MB/s.
As for its newer dual-core Broadcom processor, there didn’t seem to be any significant throughput improvement for either wired routing or wireless.
If you want to play with a Linksys AC1750 router, a refurbished EA6500 at $130 is a much better deal.
With AC1600 routers masquerading as AC1200 and AC900 routers actually AC1200 class, this latest escapade makes me wonder what Linksys’ Belkin overlords are thinking.