At first glance, you might think this weird-looking sphere is either a fancy lamp or an oversized paperweight. While it could, theoretically, hold a massive stack of paper, this sculptural piece contains something a bit more useful: powerful and secure Wi-Fi.
Unlike more conventional Wi-Fi router designs, most of which are uninspiring boxes with bug-like antennae, the Norton Core Router, designed by Herbst Produkt for Symantec (makers of the popular Norton Anti-Virus software suite) has a striking geodesic dome design that just might warrant it’s own display shelf in your home office. It’s no wonder it also happened to win the 2017 Edison Award.
“What if we could develop a line of Wi-Fi routers that live out in the open and blend into our lives, on a bookshelf or desk with full visibility to provide world-class performance and deliver the very best strength and security?”
Inspired by defense and weather radars, the $199.99 router houses a 1.7 GHz dual-core processor that supports internet speeds of up to a blazingly-fast 2.5 Gbps. At 6 x 6 x 5 inches, the router includes one Gigabit WAN port, three Gigabit LAN ports, and 2 USB 3.0 ports located at the back of the sphere.
“We set out to change WiFi forever,” explains Symantec. “Our uncompromising vision: a wireless router that secures your digital life, while delivering a high level of performance. Core uses deep packet inspection, intrusion detection, and Symantec’s Global Intelligence Network to defend your connected home—against malware, viruses, hackers and more.”
As for additional bells and whistles, the Norton Core has an accompanying app for monitoring real-time upload and download speeds, parental controls (bedtime!), device discovery, secure guest login, and more. For good measure, the device also comes with a one-year subscription to Norton Core Security Plus – the router’s dedicated security software powered by Symantec. Renewals for the software come at $9.99 per month thereafter.
Find out more over at Norton.
