Two vendors unveiled somewhat offbeat HomePlug implementations recently:

Sling Media—makers of the Slingbox, a hardware device that connects to your TV so you can watch TV content on Web-enabled devices—announced the SlingLink Turbo 1 Port and the SlingLink Turbo 4 Port. As the names indicate, these devices connect one or up to four devices respectively to a HomePlug ( 1.0) network. These come in pairs; one plugs into the power outlet near the router, the other connects to the device. The 1 Port costs $99.99 per pair; the 4 Port costs $149.99.

Zyxel announced the first all-in-one ADSL2+ gateway with built-in HomePlug AV. HomePlug gets about 200 Mbps; plenty of bandwidth to run multiple HD streams. Zyxel is gearing the box toward telcos as a platform for delivering triple-play services. The box is also available in retail for about $270.

Toni Kistner - Contributing Writer

Toni Kistner is a technology writer living in Cambridge, Mass. Her main focus is networking and wireless technology.