Apple to Launch Cheaper AirPort Extreme, 3TB Time Capsule

[MacRumors]

Apple is about to launch upgraded AirPort Extremes and Time Capsules, according to 9to5mac who cites Mr. X as a source. The new part numbers are listed below and offer a higher storage capacity Time Capsule at 3TB.

• MD031LL/A - AIRPORT EXTREME 802.11N (5TH GEN)- USA
• MD032LL/A - TIME CAPSULE 2TB (4TH GENERATION) - USA
• MD033LL/A - TIME CAPSULE 3TB (4TH GENERATION) - USA

The prices of all parts are said to drop in price, though the exact price hasn't been specified. Given the last minute part numbers, we expect the new devices could launch as early as Tuesday morning.

What's particularly interesting is that the 3TB part was predicted by MICGadget in their report late yesterday.

What's more, the 1TB model may go extinct, and the new Time Capsule will be available in 2TB plus storage, and according to our trusted source, 3TB is tested, but not sure if Apple got it to work.

They also predicted a new design with better heat dissipation, better signal strength and software update caching.

Article Link: Apple to Launch Cheaper AirPort Extreme, 3TB Time Capsule

 

[Ahheck01]

Assuming the prices are much more reasonably than current offerings ($99 seems very Apple), I will almost definitely buy the new Airport Extreme, if not a Time Capsule.

Although I hope this isn't the only announcement for today. Final Cut Pro X can't come soon enough. Anyone else?

What do you think:
Airport Express: $69
Airport Extreme: $129
Time Capsule 2TB: $229
Time Capsule 3TB: $299

 

[hohohong]

Perfect timing!! Just sold my 2TB TC a few hours ago!

I hope there's HDMI out with Thunderbolt!

 

[ratzzo]

Ooh, about time for a capacity upgrade! I might also get an AirPort Extreme if they do drop prices (4 storey house ). I don't expect them to drop significantly though

 

[motulist]

Will the Express drop in price too?

 

[TeaZy]

Assuming the prices are much more reasonably than current offerings ($99 seems very Apple), I will almost definitely buy the new Airport Extreme, if not a Time Capsule.

Although I hope this isn't the only announcement for today. Final Cut Pro X can't come soon enough. Anyone else?

What do you think:
Airport Express: $69
Airport Extreme: $129
Time Capsule 2TB: $229
Time Capsule 3TB: $299

+1 for FCPX

 

[B Gallagher]

Will the Express drop in price too?

If the report's correct, we'll find out soon enough!

 

[wordoflife]

+1 for the cheaper Airport Extreme.
I'm not paying $170 for a router that only has 3 ports. I think I'd rather get something cheaper, with 4 ports, and spend an additional 10 minutes setting it up.

 

[AtomicEdge]

I've been thinking about getting an Extreme for a while now, so maybe this will be my jumping on point. Just checking, but if I have an Extreme, can I plug a USB HDD into it and use that for Time machine Backups?

 

[stringent]

Couple of newb Qs
Can the Time machine manage multiple Mac Machines
Can it be used as a NAS box for PC to integrate
Can it be used as a NAS and Time Machine setup for Mac

 

[Hellhammer]

3TB HD should be plug&play, it's regular 3.5" SATA drive.

 

[OllyW]

They also predicted a new design with better heat dissipation...

This will be a welcome update, the infamous 18 month old Time Capsule failures were all down to overheating.

I've been thinking about getting an Extreme for a while now, so maybe this will be my jumping on point. Just checking, but if I have an Extreme, can I plug a USB HDD into it and use that for Time machine Backups?

It's not officially supported by Apple but I've been using it for years without any problems.

 

[PlutoPrime]

Couple of newb Qs
Can the Time machine manage multiple Mac Machines

Yes

Can it be used as a NAS box for PC to integrate

Yes - With a windows software download from Apple.

Can it be used as a NAS and Time Machine setup for Mac

Yes

 

[mdgm]

This does make sense. Updating the AEBS and Time Capsule before Lion is released is a good idea. They will need to support configuring them using Airport Utility on Snow Leopard anyway so they don't lose anything by releasing it now. It'll be good if people can have these setup and configured before updating their existing Macs to Lion. Releasing the new Mac models with Lion pre-installed also makes sense and is quite a different matter.

 

[Tex-Twil]

I wonder if Apple will finally integrate the music airplay with a minijack to other devices than the AirPort Express.

 

[podiki]

Pity, I use my Airport Extreme to heat my house in winter. No upgrade for me.

 

[mdgm]

3TB HD should be plug&play, it's regular 3.5" SATA drive.

So long as the OS on the device supports GPT partitioning and 4k sector partition alignment, yes. Even if these features were already there it would still require some testing.

 

[stringent]

Thanks @PlutoPrime!

 

[podiki]

BTW, a NAS? With one drive? I never did get why the time capsule has just one drive.

 

[World Citizen]

BTW, a NAS? With one drive? I never did get why the time capsule has just one drive.

Its no NAS...Its a backup appliance.
(and you could think of you Imac or Mbp HDD as first drive and the timecapsule as seccond.)


BUT PLEAS let it come soon... I sold all my non-apple hardware, and have no back-up at the moment... I am waiting for this thing for 3 months now.... Pleas hurry.. this thing is not depended on Lion, so launch it today pleas.

 

[WilliamG]

QoS support would seal the deal...

 

[silusesMac]

I hope that the new time capsules are better than the current ones the read reason I bought a airport extreme and not a time capsule was because of the price and also the reviews on the apple site all were negative and said that it only lasted 18 months and the it would not work and you would lose all your info yikes.

 

[mdgm]

BTW, a NAS? With one drive? I never did get why the time capsule has just one drive.

It is still Network Attached Storage, but I agree one non-user replaceable drive is a major drawback and one that really turns me off the device. I may well stick to using AEBS devices and see if I can use an alternative way to cache Mac OS X software updates to using the new Time Capsule (assuming this offers this). Having said that Apple likes to things keep simple. Your average consumer doesn't understand RAID or the benefits it offers. A two drive RAID-1 array provides high-availability/redundancy allowing you to keep on working if one drive fails, replacing the disk to restore redundancy. RAID isn't a backup, so important data primarily stored on a RAID array should be backed up regularly e.g. to a USB drive.

 

[mdgm]

Its no NAS...

It is Network Attached Storage, even though it isn't what one traditionally considers when one thinks of a NAS.

 

[podiki]

Yeah, Time Capsule is backup and it's better than no backup, but when your time capsule drive crashes you lose a *lot* of history.