Google OnHub router aims to make home Wi-Fi easy, reliable

Google says it has asolution to the glitchy home Wi-Fi that often stops working when you try to stream a movie or upload photos a smarter, prettier router.

The OnHub router, unveiled by Google today, resemblesa jumbo-sized drinking cupwith a ring of light around the top. It's asignificant departure from the box-with-blinking-lights-and-antenna look of traditional routers, but not that different from some newer D-Link routers that are also cylindricaland come in different colours - for many of the same reasons.

It's designed to improve the range and reliability of home Wi-Fi networks while becoming part of your livingroom dcor.

The goal is to encourage people to put it on a bookshelf to maximize the range of the Wi-Fi signals, instead of hiding the device on the floor behind the TV, as the company saysmost people do now.It's a cylinder so people won't impair the signal by tippingit on its side or stack other objects on top of it.

"We didn't just make it beautiful because we wanted it to be pretty," said Googleproduct manager Trond Wuellnervia video conference from Mountain View, Calif.,at a media preview in Toronto. "We designed it that way so it actually has a chance to operate at its best."

The device also optimizes your home Wi-Fi by automatically choosing the channel or frequency with the fastest connection, given nearby signals.

It allows you to setup and manage your network remotely via an Android or iPhone app. The software lets you see what devices are connected and how much bandwidth they are using intended to be an improvement over the enigmatic blinking lights that most routers use to communicate.

Unlike most routers, Google says OnHub will be able to receive over-the-air software updates both to add new features and to easily patch security vulnerabilities.

Made in Canada software

The software was largely built in Canada, said Paul Leventis, a Google Canada engineer who worked on the project.

"Anything the user touches has been done in Waterloo."

With respect to the hardware, the slightly tapered cylinder hides 13 antennas, including one with a reflector that boosts the range of the signal at the front of the device. Wuellner said that will improve its performance if it's put in the corner of the room, as routers often are.

For many users, says Jay Shah, a Google product manager based in Waterloo, that will eliminate the need for a Wi-Fi range extender.

OnHub has ports for an internet cable and a power cable, but only one networked device can be wired directly to it the rest need to connect via Wi-Fi. That's because Google wanted to minimize the number of wires attached to the device to keep it simple.

Google says the device does not contain any microphones anddoesn't track the websites you visit or collect the content of any traffic on your network. In response to a question from CBC News, the company did notsay whether it can collectdata about internet usage or the types of devices that are connecting. However, ittold the Associated Press that it ispledging not to monitor any of the information transmitted overOnHubexcept for visits to its search engineor other Google services, such asYouTubeorGmail, when the user's online privacy controls are set to permit data collection.

Googlehas been in trouble overWi-Fieavesdropping before.In 2010,Googleacknowledged that company cars taking photos for its digital maps also had beeninterceptingemails, passwords and other sensitive information sent over unprotectedWi-Finetworks. Canada's privacy commissionerfound that thecompany hadbreached Canadian privacy lawsby inappropriately collecting personal information through a "careless error." The companyalsopaid$7 million in 2013 to settle allegations of illegal eavesdropping in the U.S. made by 38 states and the District of Columbia.

To developOnHub,Googlepartnered with network hardware makerTP-LINK. Another model, built withASUS, iscoming later this year. In Canada, the device goes on sale at Best Buy and theGoogleStore for $269 on Aug. 31. That putsit on the higher end of the price range for wireless routers.

When asked why Google decided to target Wi-Fi, Wullner said devices and services that rely on being online are "the heart and soul" of what Google does best and given its investments, it's important to the company for users to have a good experience online.

"Being able to put a product in the world like OnHub that helps make the experience more relatable, safer and faster sets the stage for the type of environment and the type of connected home that we all believe is where the future is headed," he added.

Google has been investing in a variety oftechnologies to help people spend more time on the internet, where it earns most of itsincome through advertising.

It has been rolling out its GoogleFiber ultrahigh-speedinternet servicein U.S. cities since 2010. It bought solar-powered drone-maker Titan Aerospace in 2014, saying the technology could be used to beam internet to remote parts of the world. And it has been testing internet-beamingballoons.

It has also shown interest inconnected home technologies. It bought smart thermostat-maker Nest for $3.2 billion US last year.

Nest's products are some of Google'sservices that specifically use WiFi. Another is itsU.S. wireless service,Project Fi, which launched in April. Itswitches between cellular networks and WiFIto curb data use.