Leading vendors of consumer networking devices in the US have recently lowered their prices for related pre-N (draft 802.11n) products, with the prices for a majority of items slashed over 20%, according to market sources. The latest reduction has helped narrow the price gap between pre-N and MIMO (multi-in multi-out) devices and also brings down the price difference between pre-N and IEEE 802.11g devices from over two fold previously to about one fold presently, the sources noted.
However, a further reduction in prices for pre-N products is expected to come in late third quarter when related chipmakers are expected to roll out low-cost versions of integrated pre-N chips, the sources indicated.