Although Apple ’s iPhone and Apple TV unveiling dominate coverage of last week ’s Macworld Expo , they were n’t the only product the Cupertino - based company announce that week . The raw - and - improved AirPort Extreme Base Station did n’t charge per unit so much as a citation during Steve Jobs ’ two - hour keynote , relegating it to theannounced - by - insistency - discharge statusnormally reserved for minor release and upgrades .
And that ’s misleading , since this AirPort Extreme update is anything but venial — it ’s a long delinquent refresh of Apple ’s wireless hardware .
It ’s been seven - and - a - one-half years since Apple released its first AirPort equipment , a spaceship - shaped contraption featuring 802.11b wireless applied science that companion the AirPort - fit out iBook . Since July 1999 , Apple has importantly updated the AirPort Base Station billet three times — in November 2001 , with better encryption , cross - platform sustenance , support for up to 50 users , and a second Ethernet port ; in January 2003 , with 802.11 g financial support and wireless USB printing ; and , most recently , in April 2004 , with Power - over - Ethernet . ( There was also the June 2004 addition of the AirPort Express . )
In other words , prior to last workweek ’s eye blink - and - you - missed - it declaration , it had been nigh three year since the most recent AirPort Extreme update , and Apple ’s most able Base Station was testify its age , in terms of both features and bandwidth . give that the Apple TV should dramatically increase the amount of datum sent over home wireless web , most people assumed Apple would need to update the AirPort pipeline of Base Stations to put up the much faster 802.11n measure , and shortly .
go in the newAirPort Extreme , which bear an unearthly physical resemblance to the Apple TV . Set to transport next month , the new Extreme base post represents the most substantial rise ever to Apple ’s wireless accession point , and it execute that feat at a new lower monetary value of $ 179 . Here ’s a summation of what ’s new ( and what ’s missing ) .
It looks a lot like the Apple TV , but that ’s the new AirPort Express Base Station , featuring documentation for 802.11n wireless networking .
What’s new
802.11nThe unexampled Base Station continues to patronage the 802.11b and 802.11 g networking standard useable in the last loop of AirPort Extreme . But it adds support for 802.11a and , most important , the new802.11n“standard . ” We employ the term standard broadly speaking because802.11nhasn’t quite been approved yet ; the engineering is currently indraftstatus , which means the final spec have n’t yet been ratified by the outside standard body that supervise 802.11 applied science . However , it appears that the current draft stipulation is very potential to be the final reading — or conclude enough that a software or firmware update should be able to add the machine into specification .
The expectant advantage of 802.11n over early standards is a technology calledmultiple - input multiple - output ( MIMO ) , which use multiple antennas — the new Base Station has three national antennas to improve both performance and range . Apple claims that the latest Extreme Base Station offers up to twice the chain of its immediate predecessor ( which itself offered importantly estimable range of mountains than the original AirPort Base Station ) , and up to five time good data throughput . ( The company does n’t supply official estimate , noting that “ actual performance will depart based on mountain chain , joining pace , site stipulation , sizing of web and other divisor . ” Real - cosmos digit are more or less 100Mbps for 802.11n equate to 20Mbps for 802.11 g. ) In improver , Apple accept advantage of a currently - optional 802.11n feature , the power to habituate either the 2.4GHz or 5GHz wireless spectrums . If your 802.11n internet has trouble with one spectrum , you may switch to the other .
To take vantage of 802.11n , you ’ll need devices that sustain the new standard . consort to Apple , this include all Core 2 Duo iMacs except the 17 - column inch 1.83GHz framework ; all Core 2 Duo MacBooks ; all Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros ; and all Mac Pros with an AirPort Extreme card . The wireless circuitry in these machines already supports 802.11n and command only a elementary software update , included with the new Base Station in the descriptor of an 802.11n Enabler service program , to “ unlock ” this livelihood . ( If you do n’t purchase a new Base Station , Apple toldMacworldthat you ’ll be able-bodied to download the Enabler from the Apple Online Store for a fee of $ 1.99 . According to the company , the fee is demand so that Apple comply with loosely admit account principles , which generally ask fellowship to charge for significant feature film sweetening to previously buy product . Apple also said that the 802.11n software will eventually be included with all young Macs with 802.11n - capable hardware . )
That said , as with late Base Stations ( and wireless routers from other company ) , you ’ll get the skillful performance from undivided - standard networks — in this case , 802.11n - only . Once you add 802.11 g or 802.11b devices to the connection , the functioning of the entire connection will be affected ; it wo n’t be deoxidise all the path down to the slower performance of the respective older standards , but performance wo n’t be as fast as a individual - standard connection . ( And 802.11b devices will strike operation to a nifty extent than 802.11 chiliad gadget will . ) So if you ’ve got Macs , PowerBooks , iBooks , or other wireless devices with 802.11b or -g , do n’t expect to see as striking an increase in performance , even when using 802.11n devices .
A built - in 3 - port 10/100 switchPrevious AirPort Extreme Base Stations offer only two Ethernet port : one ( WAN ) for connecting to your broadband Ethernet connection , the other ( LAN ) to share that connection with wired clients on your local web . If you had more than one wired equipment — a reckoner , a printer , a net - audio instrumentalist , and so onward — you had to buy a hub or a switch , get in touch that to the Base Station ’s LAN Ethernet port , and then unite your devices to the hub or flip . The new Base Station includesfourEthernet ports — one WAN and three LAN — with the three LAN port as part of a establish - in 3 - port 10/100 switch . In other word , you’re able to connect up to three wire computers and devices to the Base Station to add them to your local electronic internet and provide them with Internet memory access .
USB printer and hard drive sharing : Both the current Extreme Base Station andAirPort Express Base Stationsupport printer sharing ; plug a USB printer into the Base Station ’s USB port , and any Bonjour - capable data processor ( recent OS X auto as well as Windows computers running Apple ’s Bonjour for Windows ) will automatically detect the presence of the printer on the internet and be capable to impress to it . This capability is carried over to the unexampled version of the Extreme Base Station , but Apple has added an even better feature : AirPort Disk . Connect a USB 2.0 depot driving force — in HFS Plus or FAT32 data formatting — to the Base Station ’s USB port , and that drive will be accessible to any computer on your local web via both AFP ( Personal File Sharing ) and SMB ( Windows File Sharing ) protocols . Hard drive and flash drives will process , but opthalmic drives will not .
Although this is n’t a new technology — connection - attached reposition ( NAS ) drive have been available for some time — integrating it into the new Base Station means virtuallyanyUSB surd drive can be used as a NAS drive . ( Not to mention that received USB effort are loosely much less expensive than dedicated NAS movement . ) And a new AirPort Disk Utility lets you assign file- and folder - degree restrictions to the content of the confiscate drive , so each user with permit to get at the ride can be throttle to peculiar file and folder . you could even set up drive to auto - mount on your Desktop whenever you connect your Mac to the internet — no more have to use the internet web browser app or Connect To Server dialog to access your NAS - hosted filing cabinet .
in the end , if you ’ve got a USB printeranda USB drive , or more than one of each , you may plainly connect a USB hub to the Base Station ’s USB port and then connect those devices to the hub . All of the printer and hard cause will be accessible to the local web , and you may use AirPort Disk Utility to configure access to each drive severally . ( Although Apple has n’t explicitly stated so , it appear that you could even use one of these Base - Station - share USB drive as your Time Machine accompaniment volume — once OS XTC 10.5 ship afterwards this twelvemonth , of course of instruction . )
clock time - based access controlCurrent Base Stations let you baffle entree to your wireless web ground on each gadget’sMedia Access Control ( MAC ) address , a alone hardware identifier that tell apart one computer from another . The newfangled Base Station keep this functionality , but enhances it by allow you determinewheneach gadget can get at the wireless web — and , therefore , the net . For example , you could set up the Base Station so that your minor ’s MacBook can get to the net only during specific hours . Or you could traverse entree to all computers within range of your net during hours when your family is at piece of work or school .
Better phase factorThe shape of the new Base Station—6.5 inches square by 1.3 inches tall — is probable to be an betterment for most users compared to the avowedly attractive , but reasonably windy , starship blueprint of previous fashion model . A upright intent , which would have involve a diminished footmark , may have been even better , but the new Base Station will outfit in smashed spot , such as on top of a row of ledger in a bookcase or within a culture medium center .
From left to right , the ports on the back of the Modern AirPort Extreme Base Station : Power , USB , WAN , three Ethernet ports , and a Security Slot .
What’s missing
No Gb ( 1000BASE - T ) EthernetAs noted above , the new Base Station includes a 10/100 switch . This means that it supports 10BASE - metric ton and 100BASE - thymine Ethernet . It also think that the new Base Stationdoesn’tsupport the newer — and faster—1000BASE - T ( a.k.a . , Gigabit Ethernet ) standard , a technology present on every Mac shipping today ( though not on the Apple TV , which features a 10/100 jackass ) . Apple toldMacworldthat 10/100 Ethernet “ delivers sizable performance for the most common project on a plate web , even multiple picture streams . ” And for the most part , that ’s a fairish statement — the want of Gigabit Ethernet will probably bear on only those users who have two or more Gigabit - Ethernet - equipped Macs connected directly to the AirPort Extreme ’s Ethernet ports and who utilise that connectedness to transfer large amounts of data between those wired Macs . The limitation wo n’t affect wireless data transfer , or even transfers between wired and wireless devices — although 802.11n can theoretically saturate a 100BASE - tonne connection , when you take into score web overhead , wireless interference , and other factor , it ’s unlikely you ’ll see faster - than-100BASE - T focal ratio over radio receiver .
No aerial portUnlike current Extreme Base Stations , the young simulation does not admit a port for connect an extraneous aerial to extend the reach of your wireless web . The cause for this is that the new Base Station , as noted above , is design to maximize the machine ’s home three - antenna array using MIMO applied science ; add an external feeler would actuallyreducethe range by cut off this array . And yield that the raw Base Station is suppose to offer up importantly better range than its predecessor out - of - the - boxful , there hopefully wo n’t be as much of a indigence for an external antenna . We ’re looking forwards to testing the reach when our building block arrives .
What’s it cost?
At $ 179 , this is the least expensive Extreme Base Station yet , but it ’s still more expensive than similar product from producer such as Linksys and Belkin , whose 802.11n wireless routers get at around $ 120 . However , these basic mannequin are lack many of the features offer by the new AirPort Extreme Base Station , such as share - printer and NAS backing . Once you move up to merchandise that offers similar feature , such as Linksys’sWRT350N , price are close to corresponding ( and , if Apple ’s claim are true , the Base Station will be easier to set up and administer ) .
Order status
base on eyeglasses alone , the unexampled AirPort Extreme Base Station looks to be a welcome update to Apple ’s wireless - router line — and a much more compelling product than honest-to-god Base Stations , which were often pick apart for being considerably more expensive than similar third - company products . unluckily , like the other products Apple declare last week , the new AirPort Extreme Base Station is n’t directly uncommitted ; Apple says it will start to ship in February , although our order , placed the day of the announcement , has a livery estimation of March 6 . We ’ll be certain to fill you in on its performance and functionality when the AirPort Extreme Base Station arrives .
[ Dan Frakes is a fourth-year editor forMacworldand a aged review editor atPlaylist . ]
