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Airport Base Station Refresh Soon? [Updated]

well, it would be nice if they get all of the wireless all done at same time.

so... you buy any mac product, they will all work on the best part of new standard. from laptops, to desktops.
 
In a Very Special Move, the Wi-Fi Alliance is planning on certifying 802.11n equipment before the standard is actually finished. See EE Times. From the same article, it appears that vendors expect that new pre-802.11n will interoperate with final-802.11n.

So there is no reason Apple couldn't ship the new hotness now. And it would be stupid to go to all the effort to de-leadify the current Airport when the new one will be shipping in time for iTV.
 
RichP said:
Hmm..makes you wonder about iTV. Its going to be a hard sell this spring, if all the current, and near future mac computers are unable to support the wireless bandwidth that is required for such a device. There was talk that the new intel machines had some unactivated pre-n, but that is likely not the case.

Only time, and Steve, will tell.
Click to expand...

But it would probably be simple for most users to connect to their router/switch over ethernet and only rely on wireless for the router to iTV part of the journey.
 
:(

I guess I won't be waiting for 802.11n.

I was hoping 2007 would be all santa rosa 802.11n blu-ray ect ect.

I'm just going to buy a macbook(pro) when memron comes.
 
javanate said:
The Airport Extreme is also a print server, so when comaring add print server + router.
Click to expand...

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.
 
Power line networking sounds like a useful tool in many cases. The only hardware I've actually seen only does 85Mbps though, less than you get with Ethernet. PLN is also a low security option because those little waves riding your power lines flow upstairs and downstairs to your neighbors and tiny little waves even travel across the street and down the block.

AirPort has been overpriced for years. When they first came out they sold zillions to single computer homes. Shortly thereafter the competition started lowering prices to the point where only those wanting AirTunes or with money to burn bought them.

Today most consumers buy those "cheap" brands of routers because:
1. They can be had for as little as 1/3 the price of an AirPort Express
2. Consumers buy the best value in printing which means a printer/scanner/copier/fax combination that doesn't work when connected to an AirPort Express
3. Almost every family and small business wants to mix wired and wireless computers and those "cheap" routers have 4 ports for wired connections.
4. I've yet to meet anyone who got AirTunes working reliably without a lot of mucking around.
 
Bregalad said:
4. I've yet to meet anyone who got AirTunes working reliably without a lot of mucking around.
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Are you serious? Where are you hanging out that you're not meeting people who got Airtunes working?

It's not hard. At all. Hardest part is connecting and configuring your Airport Express. Once that's done you just use the drop down menu in iTunes to select where you want to play out to.

What problems have you (or your friends) encountered?
 
ship date slips up

I noticed at the Apple store this morning that the AE Base Station is now " shipping in 7-10 days". Also of note, the Mac Books are 5-7 days. These are the only items Apple doesn't have on a "ships within 24 hours" status.

Is there some sort of announcement coming next week?
 
Bregalad said:
4. I've yet to meet anyone who got AirTunes working reliably without a lot of mucking around.
Click to expand...

I agree with your first three points. But this one? I've yet to meet anyone who thought space travel was boring. Oh, wait... I've yet to meet anyone who has travelled to space.

I know four people who have AirPort Express base stations (myself included, I have two,) and none of the four have had any problems getting AirTunes to work.

The only problems I have heard of were:

1. Couldn't get AirPort base station to connect to the internet. Solution: Forgot to enter PPPoE information.

2. AirPort Express wouldn't connect via WDS (this was my problem.) Solution: Read the manual and turn WDS on correctly. Once this was solved, AirTunes worked perfectly.

I have my AirPort Extreme base station in my home office at one end of the house (connected to my DSL modem on the WAN port, and to my multi-function printer on the LAN port; with a photo printer on the USB connection. I have an AirPort Express in the living room acting as WDS booster, and using AirTunes to play music through my home theater setup. I have another AirPort Express in the master bedroom, also acting as WDS booster, using AirTunes to play music through my 'bookshelf' stereo system, and acting as wireless-to-wired bridge for the old iMac in there. (Which, among other things, is used to remotely access my main iTunes library. It's odd, the music comes through the network to the iMac, then goes back out through the network to the AirPort Express for AirTunes streaming; since the AirPort base has optical audio, and the iMac doesn't.
 
askthedust said:
will this be necessary for iTV?
Click to expand...

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
 
dicklacara said:
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).
Click to expand...

I never thought about this, but it's a very interesting option.
 
Bregalad said:
4. I've yet to meet anyone who got AirTunes working reliably without a lot of mucking around.
Click to expand...

I am one of those people. I didn't know you couldn't have a wired internet connection and use an Airport Express solely for airtunes. That is a ridiculous limitation.

But anyways, I am planning on buying "iTV" so all of this has me wondering how they will pull it off. Or perhaps I should say how well they will pull it off.
 
Bregalad said:
Today most consumers buy those "cheap" brands of routers because:
1. They can be had for as little as 1/3 the price of an AirPort Express
Click to expand...
Those cheapo wireless routers can't do printing or music. Decent ones that do music, cost as much as express or even more. They don't have a print server, that per se would be another $75 or so. I don't have money to burn - for me airport express was one of the *best* value for money I have gotten so far - in *any* product.
2. Consumers buy the best value in printing which means a printer/scanner/copier/fax combination that doesn't work when connected to an AirPort Express
Click to expand...
I do have one of those PSCs - and I agree that I don't know of any solution for scanning wirelessly. But since I do it quite rarely, I don't mind plugging it directly to one of my laptops for then. Other than that, printing from 4 different computers only sweetens the deal.
3. Almost every family and small business wants to mix wired and wireless computers and those "cheap" routers have 4 ports for wired connections.
4. I've yet to meet anyone who got AirTunes working reliably without a lot of mucking around.
Click to expand...
I don't know where you get your #3 from, pretty much all the families I know either use wired or wireless. Therefore, I haven't seen any of the wireless users cringe about not having more ethernet hubs.
I did have some hiccups with airtunes when I was playing from my PC that had a cheapo 802.11b wireless card. All my macs have (1 MBP, 1 PB and 1 mini) performed without any glitch (touch wood) on all three fronts - net, music and printing with airport express.
 
Yes the airports are way pricier than the competition. I got mine at a X'mas sale at the apple store, and it was STILL more expensive than a 'normal' base station.
 
spydr said:
Those cheapo wireless routers can't do printing or music. Decent ones that do music, cost as much as express or even more. They don't have a print server, that per se would be another $75 or so. I don't have money to burn - for me airport express was one of the *best* value for money I have gotten so far - in *any* product.
Click to expand...

Hope you better shell out more coin for the price of a competiting product to buy Applecare for your router, seems like these things are dying left right and centre.

No surprise really, ever wondered where the heat vents are on that thing? :mad:
 
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.
 
syklee26 said:
by the way, is iTV going to function as a wireless router too?
Click to expand...

I haven't thought about that... but with the ethernet port, usb, and sound output, it could definitely replace the Airport Express as a router, print server, and airtunes. Maybe that is what the usb port is for after all.

Yes, I think NAB (10/23 - 10/26) would be a perfect opportunity to release core 2 macbook pros. (sorry for this off-topic reply to above)
 
Am I the only person who has nothing but praise for the Airport Express? I have used 4 of them - two at home, one in the office, and I even used one to set up a wireless network in a friend's apartment, and they all have PC laptops!

Long story short, with the rare exception of a couple of dropped signals now and then (which were easily rectified by just rebooting the unit) I have been thoroughly thrilled with all 4 AEX. They're fast, very reliable, and networking is a snap.

As for the overheating, it's the same with any piece of electronics - if you take the care to set it up someplace where it has a little free air around it to cool off, it's not a problem. The people with overheating issues, by and large, I would bet had their AEX stuck behind a desk or crammed into a corner behing a bookcase. No matter how cool or sleek it looks, it's still a piece of electronics and needs to be handled with at least some care. That's perfectly reasonable...
 
e28 said:
I think NAB (10/23 - 10/26) would be a perfect opportunity to release ...
Click to expand...
NAB New York is an irrelevant show even for manufacturers in the broadcast industry. If Apple makes an announcement during the timeframe of the show, it will be pure cooincidence.
 
clintob said:
Am I the only person who has nothing but praise for the Airport Express? I have used 4 of them - two at home, one in the office, and I even used one to set up a wireless network in a friend's apartment, and they all have PC laptops!
Click to expand...

I would have agreed, except mine just went belly up 10 minutes ago. It's doing the extremely common "1 flash and dead" routine. Supposedly it's toast. About 14 months old, so it was pretty expensive considering how long it worked. The wired router I'd been using it with has been powered on in one place or another for about 6 years now. So much for reliability.
 
Netgear vs. Apple

I use Netgear Range Max. It's the latest WiFi 802.11n, it speeds up to 300mbs. Using my MacBook to connect to this Wireless Router I am ocasionaly impressed by the speed. But I would wish for Apple to upgrade their Airpotr Base Station because it's speed is only 54mbs. The Netgear Range Max is cheaper by about $50 and has a cool desing like Apple. I totaly agree Apple should drop the price on their better Airpot Base Station.
 
clintob said:
Am I the only person who has nothing but praise for the Airport Express? I have used 4 of them - two at home, one in the office, and I even used one to set up a wireless network in a friend's apartment, and they all have PC laptops!
Click to expand...

How old are yours?

If you check Apple's support forums you will find that no one has one that lasts more than 1.5 years. I'd pick up a couple to make a music streaming thingy but the premature failures really put me off...

... unless you considering paying $99 for a piece of consumer electronics every year to be "acceptable", in contrast I have a Linksys router doing all sorts of fancy stuff with third party firmwares and it is still going strong after 3 years.

Oh, and it costs less than 1/2 of what the APX went for 3 years ago!
 
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