Like Google’s OnHub, the Starry Station modernizes the router with a sleeker appearance and improved WiFi signal. Even better, it puts a touchscreen control right on the router, allowing you to tweak settings without having to launch a browser or a smartphone app.
Styled in a rectangular pyramid shape, with none of the blinking LEDs found in traditional routers, it makes for a more presentable device to have out in the open. That way, you don’t have to hide it behind a TV or a far corner of the shelf, allowing you to find the optimum placement so the signal reaches every part of the house.
The Starry Station has a 3.8-inch touchscreen display for easy access to the settings right on the machine, although it does come with an accompanying app for tweaking remotely. Even better, it will keep constant tabs on your internet speed and network performance, with an onboard motion automatically triggering the screen to display useful information (e.g. the number of users, which devices are hogging bandwidth, which ones are having connection problems, and so on) as soon as you walk up to it. That same information can be accessed from the accompanying app, too, so you can troubleshoot easily wherever you are in the house.
Features include dual-band MIMO WiFi radios, dedicated dual-core processors for the display and network management, 1.5GB of RAM, and a brushed aluminum heatsink to keep it from overheating while running 24/7. It measures 80 x 178 x 161 mm.
Slated for availability this month, the Starry Station is priced at $350.