Time Capsule - 2TB Replacement Feb 28th?

[ryanide]

I was looking to get a Time Capsule - 2TB for a client but found that all the Apple stores are out of stock and indicate a Feb 28th date for availability. Also, the Apple online store indicates a 1-3 week delivery.

Do you think this is due to the Hard Drive shortage in Thailand, or that a new updated version is coming soon?

I'm thinking its better to go with an Airport Extreme and use a USB HD as a Time Machine Air Disk instead. Looks like many people have have their Time Capsule units fail.

What do you think?

 

[charlieroberts]

I was looking to get a Time Capsule - 2TB for a client but found that all the Apple stores are out of stock and indicate a Feb 28th date for availability. Also, the Apple online store indicates a 1-3 week delivery.

Do you think this is due to the Hard Drive shortage in Thailand, or that a new updated version is coming soon?

I'm thinking its better to go with an Airport Extreme and use a USB HD as a Time Machine Air Disk instead. Looks like many people have have their Time Capsule units fail.

What do you think?

Its most probably the shortage, and I have had my Time Capsule on 24/7 since feb 2008. No problems. Just bought a second one for my office last year. All good. But it appears Im more of an exception than a rule. Don't know if the newer ones have better reliability.

 

[8CoreWhore]

If I'm not mistaken, TCs use enterprise class drives and boy are those expensive right now.

But with the new software updates, looks like Apple is taking another look at the wireless routers.

I can see them wanting to use aluminum or black plastic like the Apple TV.

 

[jterp7]

If I'm not mistaken, TCs use enterprise class drives and boy are those expensive right now.

But with the new software updates, looks like Apple is taking another look at the wireless routers.

I can see them wanting to use aluminum or black plastic like the Apple TV.

Wasn't there a huge argument the last time about this too? The TCs use plain jane green drives.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...le_reveals_consumer_not_server_grade_hdd.html

 

[charlieroberts]

Wasn't there a huge argument the last time about this too? The TCs use plain jane green drives.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...le_reveals_consumer_not_server_grade_hdd.html

Only first gen 500GB TC used server Hard drives. all other IIRC use plain HDD.

 

[danny_w]

Wasn't there a huge argument the last time about this too? The TCs use plain jane green drives.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...le_reveals_consumer_not_server_grade_hdd.html

I don't understand why Apple continues to lie about the drives in these units. Tear-downs of every generation have clearly shown their claims to be false. I had the original TC but returned it when I saw how hot it got.

 

[jterp7]

I don't understand why Apple continues to lie about the drives in these units. Tear-downs of every generation have clearly shown their claims to be false. I had the original TC but returned it when I saw how hot it got.

the same reason all companies do, for profit. Also they figure most people won't notice the difference. Though a lot of us post here, we probably represent a tiny fraction of all users out there.

 

[iforbes]

I don't understand why Apple continues to lie about the drives in these units. Tear-downs of every generation have clearly shown their claims to be false. I had the original TC but returned it when I saw how hot it got.

They are not lying according to this article...

"When we asked whether the variation of the WD20EARS drive is rated for a 1-million-hour MTBF, our source confirmed that it was: "We don't spec our desktop drives with MTBF because our customers don't purchase in that manner, but this particular drive for this particular OEM with these unique requirements does meet those specifications.""

 

[cplush]

I was looking to get a Time Capsule - 2TB for a client but found that all the Apple stores are out of stock and indicate a Feb 28th date for availability. Also, the Apple online store indicates a 1-3 week delivery.

Do you think this is due to the Hard Drive shortage in Thailand, or that a new updated version is coming soon?

I'm thinking its better to go with an Airport Extreme and use a USB HD as a Time Machine Air Disk instead. Looks like many people have have their Time Capsule units fail.

What do you think?

my airport express shows the same delivery dates and i ordered through amazon yesterday...not sure if it is related or amazon just waiting for a late shipment

 

[Lennyvalentin]

They are not lying according to this article...

Well yeah, they are in fact lying, because MTBF figures are pretty much 100% BS, and mean next to nothing in the real world. There's not even one standardized manner in measuring MTBF; different manufacturers all have their own way in coming up with these bogus numbers.

Also, just because you have a really high MTBF doesn't automatically transform your drive into a server-grade product. That's ludicrous. Server-grade drives are far higher quality than mass-market consumer drives and have a completely different performance characteristic too, especially compared to the dog-slow 5400RPM drives Apple stuffs into their TCs.

TL,DR: Time Capsules use standard, cheapest-possible budget desktop drives; NOT server-grade drives. End of story.

That's not to say the TC isn't a decent-enough product; I think it is, I own a 1GB unit myself, from the previous generation. Not because of the mythical purported server-grade drive though, but because of its convenience as an automatic backup device and stability as a router. It's not crashed on me once so far and I've had it running constantly serving my Mac, PC and games consoles. My previous routers have all had stability issues, tending to hang after one or a couple months of uptime. Not so with the TC...

 

[Nuvi]

my airport express shows the same delivery dates and i ordered through amazon yesterday...not sure if it is related or amazon just waiting for a late shipment

I ordered one from Apple Online Store Europe and even they came up with Feb 28th as the delivery date. It would be strange indeed if suddenly both US and Europe get huge Time Capsules shipments of old model on the same date. In Europe Apple is out of 3TB TC's too.

Edit: just checked few Asian Apple Online Stores and they are also out of TC's. It might be that Apple is totally out of HD's or its EOL for 4th gen TC.