Apple’s new $99 dual-band AirPort Express features 802.11n, a single piece device that plugs directly into the wall, is small enough to take on the road, and can share music (specs).
AirPort Express with AirTunes has audio output jacks. You can plug an AirPort Express into an electrical outlet near speakers, then connect them with an audio output cable. Signal software from Alloysoft ($25), can even turn your iPhone into an iTunes remote.
Up to 10 users can simultaneously share the connection. It uses the Bonjour technology in Mac OS X to allow your AirPort-equipped Mac computers running Mac OS X to find each other with no effort on your part — they discover each other just by virtue of being in range of the network.
Based on an IEEE 802.11n draft specification, AirPort Express features two antennas and uses multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) to transmit multiple data streams simultaneously.
Most currently shipping Mac systems support the 802.11n technology in the AirPort Express Base Station. It is compatible with Mac computers, PCs, and wireless devices such as iPhone and iPod touch. AirPort Express uses WPA/WPA2 and 128-bit WEP. It has a Broadcom BCM4712KFB wireless networking chipset with a 200 MHz MIPS processor built in. The audio is handled by a Texas Instruments PCM2705 16-bit digital-to-analog converter, according to Wikipedia.
AirPort Express joins the dual-band, 802.11n AirPort Extreme which lets you turn your external USB hard drive into a drive you can share. It now resembles the square-shaped Mac Mini and is about half the height of the Mini. The Airport Extreme bases station is priced at $179.
AirPort debuted on July 21, 1999 at the Macworld Expo in New York City with Steve Jobs picking up an iBook supposedly to give the cameraman a better shot as he surfed the Web—the applause quickly built as people realized there were no wires. It launched Wi-Fi as a popular wireless option.
.gif)
