8.7

Bob
(Broadband in a Box)

You may have seen the TV commercials and yes my dear readers, Australia finally has BoB, a wireless modem router (802.11n) that also supports a phone handset and retails for an affordable $369 which is designed to minimise and simplify this technology for the average user.

Designed by Belkin, iinet have joined forces with one of the world's largest developers of third-party computer peripherals and the result was a match made in techno-heaven. So what does BoB actually stand for? BoB stands for "Broadband in a Box" and the distributor are hoping to revolutionise the broadband and phone market in Australia and with the monopoly that Telstra currently holds, we're all for it.

Although the phone costs $369 to purchase outright, iinet has some affordable 24-month contracts that of course includes internet access. Additional handsets can be purchased for just $69 via iinet. Of course, BoB is intended for the average computer user that gets rid of complicated modems, wireless settings and routers but rather puts it all together in one easy to use package.

What's in the box?

• 1 x BoB™ Modem

• 1 x Power Supply

• 2 x RJ11 A-Tick approved telephone cable

• 1 x RJ45 A-Tick approved network cable

• 1 x ADSL Splitter/Filter (Not required for Naked DSL accounts)

• 1 x CD (With cd installation software and manual)

• 1 x Quick Install Guide

The product comes with a Wireless router that includes four Ethernet ports, one phone connection and supports up to 3 separate phone lines (PSTN),  up to 5 telephone handsets, an ADSL socket and 2 USB ports to assist in charging USB devices (e.g. Apple iPhone) and the second USB port can be used as a storage device connection.

Add in a wireless phone handset and you're ready to surf the net and make calls in one easy to use product. The design of BoB is quite chic with a jet black colour to assist in that modern feel, however this unit would not look out of place in any home or office.

The handset that comes with Bob looks classy but feels a little like a toy because of how light it is, not that it is mind you. Also the battery life is probably on par for average cordless phone DECT systems. Dare we say that the item looks a little Apple-ish and a white unit would have been quite cool.

Features

• Allows you to connect to ADSL, ADSL2 or ADSL2+ connections

• Suitable for Naked DSL connections

• Allows for 2 VoIP accounts from iiNet

• 802.11n Wireless connectivity

• Built-in 10/100 switch

• Supports USB Fat16/32 and NTFS storage drives

• Incorporates a fail safe port so if the VoIP account fails for any reason you can still make normal phone calls. Not applicable to Naked DSL accounts.

• Supports 802.11n, 802.11g and 802.11b wireless connectivity

• SPI/NAT firewall support

• Quality of service, ensures that voice calls are given priority over data transfer

• Dynamic DNS support through DynDNS.org and TZO.org

However in order to get this product in your home or office, you need to have either a current broadband subscription with iinet or planning to join this company as your ISP. With that said, the plans for BoB (October 2009) are as follows;

Setting up the product was a rather straight forward experience, however if you have any issues in connecting this device, a simple call to iinet will assist with any issues.

As soon as the device was connected to our broadband connection, it automatically setup our account with no user input needed. This is what most people want with a broadband connection, simply plug it in and "presto", you're off running!

Of course, the internet was working straight away for us but what we wanted to test was the phone itself. Like a normal phone, you just pick it up and call the person you intend to call. After testing this device for a few weeks now, the quality of the sound was quite good and we only experienced interference on two occasions.

The handset is also quite easy to use and comes with an easy to use menu system to assist with traditional phone features such as a phone book, last caller, caller ID and everything else you would expect to find in a DECT handset.

Connecting to BoB, we tested a PS3, laptop, iPhone and a desktop computer, all wirelessly. The only issue that people will have is setting up the information on everything but their computers such as the PS3 or Apple iPhone but this was still fairly easy. In terms of security, the router supports a decent level of security options, thanks to Belkin's years of development in the field

Final Thoughts

BoB is definitely the way of the future and hopefully Australia will embrace this technology. For now, BoB is only available with iinet and is definitely one of the easiest items that we had the pleasure of setting up. Connecting wireless devices and wired device was a breeze and it also removes the need of excessive devices in your home or office.

Definitely recommended to home users, gamers and even office users. Check it out!