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FritzBox Fon WLAN 7140
Price: £120 inc VAT

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 30/08/2007
Featured in magazine:
Issue 169
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: AVM
Tel: +49 3039 976232
Web Address: www.fritzbox.eu


If you're thinking of taking the plunge into wireless networking by setting yourself up with a wireless router, it's worth taking a look at FritzBox. This German brand has been quietly producing products that are a little off the beaten track, incorporating standards-compliant internet telephony (or VoIP – Voice over Internet Protocol) into its Wi-Fi routers. Anyone planning on saving some money on phone calls with VoIP, who isn't so fussed about being beholden to Skype and its non-standard ways, could use this device to bring cheap phone calls to their current landline phone while also piping the internet around their home.

Features
The modem/router itself is a standard looking box, with nothing spectacular in terms of design. Looking at the back and the supplied cables, however, shows a few differences: there's space on the rear to plug in a standard phone; there's a USB port; and the cable that connects to your ADSL splitter connects to both the phone and the data sockets. This basically means that by plugging your standard phone into the router you can still use it as normal, for making and receiving regular calls and even calling the emergency services. However, subscribe to a SIP (Server Initiated Protocol) compliant VoIP provider, and you can also use the phone to make cheaper (or free) VoIP calls. A free trial with Sipgate (www.sipgate.co.uk) is included, but there's a huge range of alternatives, from Babble (www.babble.net) to DrayTel (www.draytel.org).

Performance
The Wi-Fi on this model covers the current standards: 802.11b and 802.11g. We've started to get used to the increased range and speed of Wi-Fi equipment adhering to the draft version of the 802.11n standard though, which speeds up the network, improves its range significantly and leaves this device well behind in terms of speed. Having said that, we haven't seen an 802.11n device with these VoIP features and this is guaranteed to work nicely with your existing 802.11b/g equipment, should you have any.

Ease of use
Getting started with the device is a cinch, as long as you're prepared to follow the step-by-step software on the supplied CD. This takes you through each step of setting the device up and checks it as you go, so there's no having to guess where, if anywhere, you're going wrong. Diagrams help with the unusual cabling too. Once up and running, you can access the router via the software or a browser (both versions look identical, which helps), and there are handy counters you can use to work out how much time you've clocked up on the phone. The USB port can also be used to make life easier, so you can share a printer or USB-based storage across your network.

Value for money
Because of all the extras, this does come out a little more expensive than you might expect. You could, for example, get a significantly faster 802.11n router for less than this if you didn't mind losing those extra phone and USB trimmings. You can't expect something for nothing though, and what you add to the price of the router, you'll save on additional hardware that might otherwise let you use a service like Skype without needing your PC to be switched on.

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