When it comes to Wi-Fi, it’s all about speed, baby. Well, speed and reliability. Okay, speed, reliability, accessibility—and the price needs to be reasonable too.
QuickerTek’s nCard, an 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless card, promises to deliver improvements in two of the above categories: speed and accessibility. The company claims that the card will provide wireless speeds that are “the absolute fastest the wireless network can manage”—up to 300 megabits per second.
Supposedly, the card will increase the maximum distance you can be from your wireless router, potentially making leisurely backyard Web-surfing a reality. The nCard is compatible with all Apple AirPort Base Stations as well as Linksys, Belkin and just about any other wireless network hardware, including the “Draft N” equipment.
Although installing a piece of hardware into your Mac might sound daunting, the new nCard installs right into the internal AirPort card slot—a process that QuickerTek claims is no more complex than upgrading memory. The card itself can also be upgraded with an external antenna to further increase its range.
The nCard, priced at $90, is compatible with 2006-2009 MacBook models, 2006-2008 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models, and 2006-early 2009 Mac Minis. The new unibody MacBook and MacBook Pros are not supported, nor is the current Core-based or previous G4 Mac Mini models.