Apple Introduces Redesigned AirPort Express

Was hoping its bigger brother was updated the AEBS. Really need a new router with multiple LAN ports. FS Apple whats the point only updating one half of the family :mad:
 
RoboCop001 said:
It always had a WAN port, but that didn't let you plug in a computer to give it network access. They've now added a LAN port for this purpose. WAN would be to connect your Internet modem into.
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That's not true. You can configure an AE to extend an existing network and provide access to a client over Ethernet. For most people that's not going to be particularly useful, but it's possible.
 
larrylaffer said:
Still no disk sharing for those of us that don't want to spend an egregious amount of money on an Airport Extreme. Shame on you Apple. :mad:
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How did you determine that this was the case? I would like to see this verified, as I am unsure of whether the omission of disk sharing from the marketing materials means much in this regard.
 
I hope they will sell the remaining stock of older models at a reduced priced. I might buy at least one.

I honestly think the convenience of the plug was one of its best features.
 
wow, thats a cool looking white apple tv 3:confused:

O, its not!:(

now we got to carry a plug or lead cable - what happen to we travellers with a joy for keeping all our apple products connected!

BAD apple! Bad Apple!! :mad:
 
While the direct-plugin feature was practical, it doesn't make the best placement for a wireless router antenna. The one at my parent's house is plugged into the wall outlet, a foot off the ground, directly behind a metal filing cabinet. No wonder that the signal range and speed wasn't very good.
 
You should be able to take the attachment wall plug dongles from other Apple chargers and plug it into this new AEx and just let it hang off like the old AEx. Sure it's not as pretty but it'll give the same compactness.
 
alexandero said:
Actually the Apple Online Stores in many countries do not list any refurbished Airport Express hardware. They never did, and I doubt it'll change.
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Apple DO sell them. They come and go in batches.


notjustjay said:
While the direct-plugin feature was practical, it doesn't make the best placement for a wireless router antenna. The one at my parent's house is plugged into the wall outlet, a foot off the ground, directly behind a metal filing cabinet. No wonder that the signal range and speed wasn't very good.
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Nothing is stopping them from using an extension power cable to place it away from metal.
 
Consultant said:
Apple DO sell them. They come and go in batches.
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I've been checking for a refurbished Airport Express on a bi-weekly basis in my local Apple Store. No luck, even after many months. I can only assume the batches are sold out within a day or two.

(but we're getting off topic, sorry for derailing the thread)
 
larrylaffer said:
That's not true. You can configure an AE to extend an existing network and provide access to a client over Ethernet. For most people that's not going to be particularly useful, but it's possible.
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This didn't work for me when I did this setup. No matter what steps I followed I couldn't get access over the Ethernet port.
 
sammich said:
You should be able to take the attachment wall plug dongles from other Apple chargers and plug it into this new AEx and just let it hang off like the old AEx. Sure it's not as pretty but it'll give the same compactness.
Click to expand...

I was thinking about that. The two things you'd have to worry about is if it fits (it looks like the same shape, but maybe the size is different, I don't know) and the weight. I don't want to put too much strain on that, especially around the power supply.

But for travelling, it's still an extra piece one would have to carry.

I called the local store, and they weren't even aware there was an update to the Express. He said they most likely would sell the older models at a reduced price, as soon as the new models arrive.
 
sammich said:
You should be able to take the attachment wall plug dongles from other Apple chargers and plug it into this new AEx and just let it hang off like the old AEx. Sure it's not as pretty but it'll give the same compactness.
Click to expand...
The connector to the unit looks different in the pictures, so the existing plug dongles won't work, at least not the US ones. The old ones have a round metal head sort of thing, this one has two round holes side by side.

I really like the direct plug-in models. It is quite handy to get rid of at least one dangling cable. The only problem I have is the size of the "holes" in some of our outlets. Some are pretty loose, so AEs do not stay tight in some of them.

I once used our home router on a trip to Japan to get wireless internet for our iPhones and iPads. Most of the hotels we stayed at had free wired internet, but no wireless in the rooms. The compact size of AE made it easy to carry one in my backpack. This one would require another cable to carry, but maybe I could share that with the one for my camera charger.
 
Kentochan said:
Looks a little bit like a white Apple TV!
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Looks like the same hand holding the device.

appletv_smallsize.png



overview_hero_gallery_1.png
 
Trauma1 said:
So this one doesn't plug directly into an outlet?

Not interested.
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I agree with you although I do really like the form factor if you have room to sit it somewhere.

Edit: By the way, this new Airport Express now supports up to 50 users. The last one only supported like 10. That, with the dual band seems like a nice upgrade to me.
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Yeah the dual band is the nicest feature despite the loss of integrated plug in. IDK if I really care about the user cap increase since the last time I had over 10 people on my network was never. Can't wait to see the pics of these stacked with ATVs :p
 
I like that you can set it up from airport utility on an ios device.

I wonder if we will be able to set up the extreme and time capsule that way too.
 
larrylaffer said:
That's not true. You can configure an AE to extend an existing network and provide access to a client over Ethernet. For most people that's not going to be particularly useful, but it's possible.
Click to expand...

this is exactly what I do. I have a set top box that can also stream over the internet and which needs an ethernet connection. Since it's miles away from my other network gear, I connect the AE to my wifi network and extend the network over ethernet.
 
RoboCop001 said:
This didn't work for me when I did this setup. No matter what steps I followed I couldn't get access over the Ethernet port.
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I got it to work when I turned my old AE into an ethernet-to-wireless adapter for my Blu-Ray player to get Netflix streaming. I don't know if it works with third party base stations though, I had two AEs in my setup.

I feel like there was one undocumented step in Apple's instructions. I had to turn off encryption (or downgrade to WEP) to pair the two AEs. Once they recognized each other, I was able to go back to WPA2 encryption.
 
DominikHoffmann said:
How did you determine that this (= no disk sharing) was the case? I would like to see this verified, as I am unsure of whether the omission of disk sharing from the marketing materials means much in this regard.
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It's not mentioned in the Tech Specs, only Printer Sharing: http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/specs/

I just wish they'd add AirPlay support to the Extreme. It's also a shame that the LAN port is only 100, though it may be a handy new feature for some.
 
seeing as how it's now wireless simultaneous, it MUST have the ability to extend a wireless network on both the 2.4 and 5.0 ghz networks, right? I'm very interested in one, and this is what I'm looking to do:

I want to take my Aiport Extreme, run a cat6 cable to an airport express -- the airport express will broadcast it's own 2.4 and 5.0 ghz. Ideally, I want to add more wireless capacity and range to my home. Is this possible?
 
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