| 1 | Washington - Google launched a Wi-Fi router on Tuesday, the latest move in the company's efforts to get ready for the connected home and draw more users to its services. |
| 2 | The cylinder-shaped router, named OnHub, can be pre-ordered for $199.99 at online retailers including the Google Store, Amazon.com and Walmart.com. |
| 3 | The router comes with in-built antennas that will scan the airwaves to spot the fastest connection, Google said in a blog post. |
| 4 | With the router, users will be able to prioritise a device so that they can get the fastest internet speeds for data-heavy activities such as downloading content or streaming a movie. |
| 5 | The router can be hooked up with Google's On app, available on Android and iOS, to run network checks and keep track of bandwidth use among other things. |
| 6 | Google said OnHub automatically updates with new features and the latest security upgrades, just like the company's Android OS and Chrome browser. |
| 7 | The router is being manufactured by network company TP-LINK, Google said, hinting that Asus could be the second manufacturing partner for the product. |
| 8 | The product launch comes days after Google restructured itself by creating Alphabet, a holding company to pool its many subsidiaries and separate the core web advertising business from newer ventures like driverless cars. |
| 9 | Making products for the smart home is one such venture. |
| 10 | Google in 2014 bought Nest, a smart thermostat maker, for $3.2bn, aiming to lead the way on how household devices link to each other and to electricity grids. |
| 11 | The global market for "Internet of Things", the concept of connecting household devices to the internet, will nearly triple to $1.7 trillion by 2020, research firm International Data Corporation said in June. |
| 12 | Technology firms including Intel, Cisco Systems, Samsung Electronics and telecom giants Vodafone and Verizon are betting heavily on internet device-connected homes for future revenue and profit. |
| 13 | Google has also been working on providing faster internet with its Google Fibre service in some US cities. |