Wireless Devices Are Hot Holiday Gifts, But Can You Set Them Up?

Wireless gadgets are atop many holiday gift wish lists, but many would-be wireless device owners are unaware that purchasing some of these new devices might require them to update their home wireless networks, according to a new report.

Of those surveyed by Opinion Research for Cisco's Home Networking business unit, 96 percent anticipated they or someone in their household would receive some new wireless device as a gift. But more than half of respondents did not realize that some of these new devices might require upgrading their home network to the latest wireless 802.11n standard. Nearly one-third of respondents did not have a wireless network at home.

What type of gadgets are we talking about? The majority expected a new computer or laptop, 19 percent wanted game system, 16 percent are looking to receive a tablet, and 14 percent are expecting smartphones.

A wireless network ranked second in technology importance among those surveyed, followed only by smartphones. While wireless networks are important to many, only 15 percent know what type of network they have.

Over half said they had experienced wireless home network problems even before connecting new wireless gadgets. These problems include: buffering delays when streaming movies; periodic disconnections from the home network; slow downloads; latency issues when playing music; and slow gaming.

"The Holiday Wireless survey shows that while wireless devices are among the hottest gifts this season, consumers may not have the necessary wireless networking products to make all those great presents work to their full potential," said Scott Kabat, director of marketing for Cisco Home Networking business unit.

Cisco cited its latest Linksys E-Series Wireless-N routers as not only providing "the high performance required for today's connected home, but also addresses the requirements of new media technologies such as Internet-enabled TVs, game consoles, tablets and smartphones."

For more information on how to select the right networking products for the holidays, check out: , and .