Zyxel X150N

Zyxel X150N wireless router

With a street price of around $30, the Zyxel X150N wireless router is a bargain among 802.11n (Wireless-N) routers. However, you get what you pay for. The router features the single-stream N standard, which has wireless cap speeds of just 150Mbps. In our testing its actual performance is much lower than that, especially over range. The router is relatively easy to use via a simple Web interface, which, unfortunately requires restarting to apply any changes, and each restart takes a long time. If you are looking for a cheap and simple Wireless-N router for a small office space, the Zyxel X150N is likely to get the job done. At the same price point, however, you should also check out the similarly configured TP-Link TL-WR741ND or pay a little more for any low-end dual-stream N router. The Zyxel X150N comes in a spartan package that includes the router itself, a power adapter, a software CD containing the manual in PDF format, and an Easy Setup Guide poster. The poster guides you through the setup process via six well-illustrated steps, from hooking up the router to a broadband modem to opening its Web interface for further customization.