Airport Base Station Refresh Soon?

[MacRumors]

According to the Online Apple Store, the Airport Extreme Base Station's ship date has slipped to "mid-November". Such a delay would seem to indicate Apple is readying a revision is nearing. However, the extent of the revision is not currently known, as the update may simply be to pass relatively new European environmental regulations (RoHS) that has stopped the sale of the base station and the iSight in Europe since June 30th. The iSight is also facing a similar shipping delay, with a stated ship date of October for U.S. online apple store customers.

Note: Users hoping for an update that supports the upcoming IEEE 802.11n spec may not want to hold their breath, as the spec has faced repeated delays and currently is not expected to get final approval until 2008. While Apple's original Airport base station was "pre-802.11b" compliant and a firmware upgrade made the station compatible with the finalized spec, the current situation is different and the changing nature will likely render any "pre-802.11n" devices not compatible with the final specification (making an adoption by Apple unlikely at this time).

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[treblah]

Originally Posted by Macrumors

While Apple's original Airport base station was "pre-802.11b" compliant and a firmware upgrade made the station compatible with the finalized spec, the current situation is different and the changing nature will likely render any "pre-802.11n" devices not compatible with the final specification (making an adoption by Apple unlikely at this time).

Source?

From what I've read the Wi-Fi Alliance, which Apple is a member of, is basically going to sidestep the IEEE and 'certify' the draft as the "standard" until '08. Even then they expect interoperability between draft and final spec.

Link.

[twoodcc]

well i hope that they update the airport base stations.....they haven't been updated in awhile

[Sam0r]

Me too, 54mbps is too slow when you think that the rest of the world are hitting speeds of 108mbps and more.

[w_parietti22]

Are the cards shipping in Macs today compatible with 802.11n?

[Superdrive]

How about a price drop? Anything over $100 for Airport is no deal for the consumer.

[dicklacara]

Mmmm...

When Steve announced the iTV, I was surprised by the "Spring 2007" availability date, as it looks as if faster WiFi (811.n) won't be available until later 2007 or 2008.

Another interesting "feature" of iTV is the built-in power supply (no power brick) for such a small device.

I wonder if Steve has an alternate means of streaming between a computer in the den and an iTV in the living room.

One possibility is Power Line Networking (PLN) and Broadband over Power Line (BPL). It is currently possible to transmit data over the power lines within the house at 200 Mbps (the same max speed as the coming 811.n Wi-Fi).

Some manufacturers are building PLN into the latest TVs, speakers, etc. There are also external PLN interfaces for our current TVs and speakers.

Including the power supply within the iTV could mean that the iTV includes PLN (in addition to a provision for 811.n WiFi whenever a standard becomes available).

[Darwin]

Originally Posted by w_parietti22

Are the cards shipping in Macs today compatible with 802.11n?

Not sure about 802.11n but I do believe that the wireless chips in the new machines are capable of doing 802.11a but the firmware isn't allowing this feature yet

[syklee26]

Originally Posted by w_parietti22

Are the cards shipping in Macs today compatible with 802.11n?

it is not gonna give you N speed but yes, N is backward compatible with A/B/G so it should have no problem connecting to old macs.

[aswitcher]

Originally Posted by twoodcc

well i hope that they update the airport base stations.....they haven't been updated in awhile

Since what, Jan 2003?

Yeah, and the prices haven't changed. Few new features either.

Apple still need a decent G base station for commercial wireless for the next 3-5 years, until N takes over. Maybe a 2-3 models with different features.

So I expect to see an update, maybe a A/B/G model (like the pros are getting) with MIMO for better reception/bandwidth. Theres a lot of wireless clutter out there now so I hope the form factir change (if any) doesn'tlimit the power/range.

I expect to see a signficant price drop unless they really bundle in some good new stuff (see below). Good wireless router/base stations can be had for 25%-50% less.

I would also like to see the modem usable as a fax and voice line, not just for internet. That would really push up sales now no one has inbuilt modems; and people are getting second virtual phone lines with their fast broadband which would be nice for a fax line.

I would be very keen to see dual cards in one model, so it can run two networks on different channels, allowing for increased bandwidth, voip/video dedicated channels etc Maybe the whole A/B/G thing is about doing just that, with twin comms across A and B/G. 108MBs all up. Maybe quicker with their own compression etc like D-Link have been doing for a few years now...so 216MBs under ideal conditions ;0

Maybe a 4 port router rather than the 2 existing ports. Maybe gigabit? (Or perhaps that should wait for N)

I would also be really happy if Apple diversified a bit and added more options to their USB port on the AEXP and AEXT units. Really great if they allowed you to connect a HDD directly to that and make it accessable to the whole network. -> Think Leopard, Time Machine and a dedicated 802.11A channel for remote wireless relatime backups

An iPod updating remotely with the USB might be pretty cool as well for some of us with airport expresses spread around.

And what about the audio/optical out. Why not allow more than Airtunes? What about allowing a tick list of other sounds/apps for when your away from your machines listening to Airtunes etc; like iChat alerts, Email pings, computer audio comments, etc etc

[jlewis2k1]

eh i wouldnt believe this till i see it. its like apple neglected this product. this disappoints me cause when i first got the AEBS it was good and all but now it just plain sucks. I would chose to get the Airport Express but I now have this feeling it will just be as bad as the Extreme.

[generik]

A price drop to $99 would be appreciated, although even then I will still have a hard time choosing it over the WRT54GL

[jlewis2k1]

Originally Posted by generik

A price drop to $99 would be appreciated, although even then I will still have a hard time choosing it over the WRT54GL

if they were to drop the prices i would say it needs to be at least $69 to be competitive with the other products out there.

[javanate]

Originally Posted by jlewis2k1

if they were to drop the prices i would say it needs to be at least $69 to be competitive with the other products out there.

The Airport Extreme is also a print server, so when comaring add print server + router.

[jlewis2k1]

Originally Posted by javanate

The Airport Extreme is also a print server, so when comaring add print server + router.

thats true but im just saying $69 would be the lowest. so it could be $79, $89 or $99 but hey they need to be as competitive as possible. I didn't like the idea of paying $299 for the Airport Extreme.

[BlueRevolution]

I'm shopping for an express on eBay... so expensive, but then most routers don't let you stream music. The Extremes are just plain overpriced. Then again, I paid $100 for the card in my G5...

(By the way, at least the price of the cards has gone down, even if the routers are still as overpriced as ever.)

[generik]

The cards are still as expensive as ever if anything, especially the brand name ones from Linksys et el, the funny thing is the USB dongles have crashed through the floor

[askthedust]

will this be necessary for iTV?

[Darwin]

Originally Posted by askthedust

will this be necessary for iTV?

Obviously Apple would like you to use all of there products together but you will be able to mix and match with other products, as long as they all support the same standards

[corywoolf]

New iSight with IR Receiver & Apple Remote bundled + Airport Extreme Update (Pre-N) in the next 3 weeks. We have been out of the iSight for 3 weeks now and just ran out of the Airport Extreme this week. Our IMS system says they are not on order and our website states we are out of stock for online orders. This clearly means that Apple has to release these sometime in the next couple weeks. Oh and our MacBook Pro inventory is very low and shipments are delayed. New MBP's around the time of NAB (which I got V.I.P. tickets to) in NYC. Apple will NOT be at the event, but will likely release the MBP's the same week. Being retail, I of course have no inside info, but when you see all the signs, it's just an educated assumption.

[macdragonfl]

It would be great if Apple could make it the same case as ITV put in AirTunes and a expansion card slot for new standards and keep the USB. Would also be nice if Apple could make updated wireless cards for users with airport and airport extreme cards. I have both Airport Extreme and Multiple Airport Express units. Extreme in service now three years, Express' about two and a half. The Express shoud be updated as well. One of its bigest problems is using the reset button. If you have to factory reset it it can be a nightmare. I now have found using Airport Admin Utility to reset Express is the only way to go. But other than that it has been great. Airtunes works very well. I use two different printers. The all in ones do work fine for printing only. You just need to load print only drivers. Many of the companies did not have these drivers when I first got mine. Price wise it should hit $129.00 for Extreme and $89.00 for Express.

[OdduWon]

with xserves comming october launch and dotmac's switch to intel, will we see new airport station before 802.11n? or will we see that, at, or after santarosa? itv? new express would be cool. along with the new apple isound. a small wireless speaker set that uses a reciver attatchment to ipod so you can listen and move without wires anywhere. this before ipod with iconrtol interface.ahem.. itv remote ahemm.. the TelePod is comming!