I bought a Netgear DG834Gv1 54G wireless modem router when I first took out a broadband package with my ISP some 7 - 8 years ago. It has proven to be fairly easy to setup and will do it's best to keep connection when there's a drop in connection. This is more of a problem with the ISP than the router. I was given a version 2 of this router by a friend who just couldn't get his to work. All I did was to hard reset it using the pin-hole on the back plate, rebooted it and set it up just like my version 1. Absolutely no problems with it other than what I've already written about the loss of connection. However, these two earlier versions lacked certain facilities such as WDS though this method of connecting Netgear wi-fi equipment is usually done using the insecure WEP wireless protocol anyway so no great loss. In it's day it was an excellent router though these days it's quite long in the tooth! Both of my Netgear 834's are now kept as a backup incase my present modem router stops working.

The Netgear DG834G is expensive but worthwhile (quality obviously comes at a price).

I am extremely proud of being the owner of a wonderful Netgear DG384G wireless router. I've only had it a few days, but I can safely say that nobody will regret this buy!

Since we are good customers, AOL decided to give us a free wireless router as a little present. This definitely wasn't a cheap present! The router itself is worth over £65!

The router is both a wireless connector and an Ethernet switchboard. Therefore you've got two types of good routers in one! The wireless signals themselves are very strong, with the 108mbps power covering quite an extensive area in and around your home. However, this could potentially cause difficulties for other wireless equipment in your home (eg. a cordless telephone). The router pumps out both wireless 802.11g signals (the latest) and 802.11b signals (the slighter older). Both are completely compatible with the router, and so, summing up, this router basically suits anyone who:
Wants a reliable router.
Wants to go wireless.
Has AOL Broadband Silver, Gold or Platinum, or another good home network ISP.
Can afford to spend a little more than usual.

It's really great!

PLEASE NOTE: This is the router that AOL are currently offering to new customers when they sign up to one of their services.

Here's my review of the Netgear DG834G 54Mbps Wireless ADSL Modem Firewall Router:

Design:
If there were such a thing as a router beauty contest, then the DG834G would win any day. It ships in a cool white case and can even be put on a cool looking stand to make it look even more flashy.
In common with many of its rivals, the DG834G no longer has a power switch but who needs one of them. It does have the usual green and amber LEDs on the front, for ADSL sync, wireless LAN activity and a link light for each of its four 10/100Mbps Ethernet ports.
The DG834G's price is a tiny bit higher than its rivals but can be picked up cheaper.

Features:
The DG834G has a huge feature set that's hard to fault. Its security features are an example of this. You get an excellent firewall with SPI & Intrusion Control, DoS control and IPSec/Virtual Private Network (VPN) pass-through.
It does also have an excellent selling point, though: Netgear's latest router has a faster processor and additional flash memory so that it can accept firmware updates for ADSL 2 (12Mbps downstream) and ADSL 2+ (24Mbps). This is a nice feature to have, although by the time we see these proposed standards turned in to reality, the DG834G is likely to be a marshmellow.
Set up with the DG834G is like being wrapped up in duvet being taken from step to step by a small white cloud, thanks to its Smart Wizard. To get connected you run this wizard, which can automatically detect your basic ADSL and network settings. This can take a minute or two, but all you need do is enter your username and password and that's it, the wizard takes care of the rest. The DG834G is Web-configured -- a job that's made easier by its well-designed, tri-pane user interface. Most routers have okayish UIs, but the DG834G's stands out for the attractive, clear and easy to follow layout. The ever-present help panel on the right-hand side provides assistance when you're stumped for the right setting to choose. Paper manuals are none existant, but you do get a CD-ROM that includes animated instructions, the Install Assistant.

Performance:
The DG834G's feature list matches the best and it has pretty much everything you might need unless you require a bullet proof titanium palm top coffe machine router. The only point to make about it is about the firmware. When originally launched, the DG834G lacked Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) security, but firmware updates corrected that -- you now get a choice of PSK or 802.1x authentication. However, that upgrade brought with it a few bugs, prompting a swarm of complaints on forums and newsgroups, with problems concerning MSN Messenger (of all things) plus the loss of the scheduler for content filtering being caused by the latest update. Sometimes the v1.03 upgrade would actually cause the router to become non-responsive which is pointless, your just stuck with an overpriced paperweight.
The problems caused by the firmware update must have been just a little significant, because Netgear has gone to the trouble of providing a firmware recovery utility specifically for DG834Gs that have been made unusable by the upgrade. Hopefully, the current firmware release, v1.04.01, nails all the old bugs.