Dell goes 802.11n draft spec with latest wireless card

It seems like everyone has run out of patience waiting for the ratification of the next WiFi standard. The latest manufacturer to enter the 802.11n draft spec foray is Dell, who just unveiled the Dell Wireless 1500 Draft 802.11n dual-band wireless card. This new card will be offered with select XPS and Inspiron notebooks.

Of course, to make use of the higher speeds, you’ll need to equip yourself with the right router. As such, Dell is telling its customers to pair this new wireless card with a Broadcom Intensi-fi equipped router. After you’ve done that, you’ll get to enjoy data transfers of up to 270Mbps, a significant jump from the 54Mbps offered through current 802.11g-based networks.

The MIMO-ready 1500 dual-band wireless card is completely backwards compatible with the three flavours of WiFi we’ve grown accustomed to over the years — 802.11a, b, and g — and will sell for $59.