Not only does the E4200 bring a stylish new look to Cisco's consumer networking products, it also signifies a reduced focus on Linksys branding in favour of Cisco.
The E4200 is the flagship product in Cisco's redesigned lineup of home networking products.
Increasingly consumer routers are becoming focused on ease of installation, which explains the Apple-esque internal packaging design.
Under the router sit the accesories. Again this is designed to be as simple as possible, with a quick install guide that pushes users to the install disc.
There is a sole Ethernet cable included with the router, as well as the power adaptor. This model lacks a modem, which keeps the neccesary cabling to a minimum.
The new design flows through to the other products in the range. Cisco has kept things minimalist, with a light-up logo the main feature of the top of the unit.
The router is incredibly thin, and dominated by the black panels which hide antennae for dual band Wireless N connections running at 300 and 450 Mb/s.
On the back are four gigabit ethernet ports, Internet in for connection to a modem, small blue WPA connection button, USB port for adding storage or printers and power and reset switches.
One really interesting thing about the packaging is the fact that the Linksys branding has been relegated to product name, which the Cisco brand is elevated more than before. GOing forward we expect to see less of the Linksys name as Cisco takes over as the brand seen on both consumer and B2B product lines.
The E4200 is the flagship product in Cisco's redesigned lineup of home networking products.