The DigitalLife conference at the Javitz Center was a coming out party for new technology from technology companies like Palm and Microsoft, a place for eager gamers to try out the games which will be released in the coming months and a forum for lesser-known technology companies to show off their products. This last category yielded an interesting find for me when I stumbled upon Ruckus Wireless' booth.

Ruckus manufactures a wireless router, and wireless receiver, which are used, primarily to connect IPTV throughout a home. The receiver uses a unique antenna (pictured below) which the company claims avoids Wi-Fi dead zones, and the receiver receives the signal, then sends it through an ethernet wire to any device which can connect to one. Currently the company derives most of its business from deals with telecom companies overseas who have gained much greater traction with IPTV than their counterparts in the U.S. I've talked about IPTV in the U.S. before, and nothing has made me rethink my views on the impact it will have on the television balance of power, but I do think that Ruckus can find another niche in the U.S. That niche is in integrating Wi-Fi with older, wired components in the home.

I talked about the problem of wiring my new apartment a couple of months ago. The end result was that I did move, I have a telephone wire running through a hallway (which my wife is less than pleased about), my PlayStation 2 is no longer hooked up to my router via an ethernet cable and I have spotty Wi-Fi reception in my living room. A Ruckus router/receiver combo would probably solve the last two problems. As technology moves forward, components that need a hard-line ethernet connection will probably have Wi-Fi connectivity, it's already happening. In the mean time, I think Ruckus could find a place in the homes of some early-adopters (especially those with frustrated spouses who are sick of having wires running all over the house.) The price, $149 for the router and $109 for the receiver, is a bit steep for me to be able to justify the purchase at this point.

Investors seem to like what the company has been doing, Motorola Ventures among others just helped the company close a third round of funding for $16 million, bringing the total raised to $30 million. Sequoia was an early investor in the company as well. — Brian Ward

Technorati tags: digitallife, ruckus wireless, wifi.