In addition to electronic distribution on Amazon, Netgear’s first retail modem powered by DOCSIS 3.1 will also be available at select retail outlets.
Netgear said the model, the CM1000, is in its distribution center and, in addition to Amazon, is released for Fry’s Electronics, and is expected to be released for Best Buy before the end of the month, though wider availability at Best Buy might not occur until the end of January.
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The CM1000 appeared earlier in the week on Amazon for pre-orders for $179.99, with an expected availability date of Dec. 13. The item vanished from Amazon temporarily, but, at last check, is featured again on the site, though it’s listed as being “currently unavailable” and absent of pricing information.
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Via Twitter, Netgear said pre-orders should be reinstituted within the next week.
CableLabs certified the CM1000 earlier this year. This Comcast Web page also confirms that the CM1000 has been certified by the MSO, which has been expanding the reach of its DOCSIS 3.1 consumer trials. The current listing on Amazon still notes that the CM1000 has not yet been certified by Charter Communications.
Arris confirmed earlier this week that it will start to sell the SB8200, which has also been certified by CableLabs, at retail later this month and will share more details soon.
Comcast is also expected to get into the retail game as well for products such as the XB6, a souped-up DOCSIS 3.1 gateway.
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“We are taking this to retail,” Brian Roberts, Comcast’s chairman and CEO, said of the XB6 in September at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference. The XB6, which will support a self-install option, will handle a wide range of Comcast services, including Xfinity Home.
In May, FierceCable, citing a Comcast official, reported that Comcast is also considering retail availability of the Xi5, the MSO’s first device to support High Dynamic Range (HDR).
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In October, Roberts said the Xi5, also the first box from Comcast to support video-over-WiFi, is targeting a connection/installation goal of two minutes “with a few simple keystrokes.”
