Filed under: Airport
802.11n Airport Express is now on sale
Some people may not believe that a leak on the Swiss Apple Store is an indication of actual product coming down the mountain. "The Swiss don't make mistakes like that," they say. Well, fair enough, but we now have the real deal: the Airport Express with 802.11n is on sale in the US Apple Store.Our retail channel sources told us that the AE would be available by 3/23 or sooner, so looks like "sooner" wins. $99, supports up to 10 connected machines, AirTunes and printer sharing: works for me.
Thanks Mr. X & everyone who sent this in
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
EclipseEmpire said 10:20AM on 3-17-2008
The Apple trend continues... no education discount (personal or institutional) , but at $99 it's still a good deal. Wish it supported AirDisc though.
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Peter Zich said 10:28AM on 3-17-2008
Ordered one this morning, I was about to get an 802.11g Friday, good thing I waited.
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christapher said 11:59AM on 3-17-2008
yeah, i put my 802.11g express on ebay as soon as i read about the swiss one... its still up there... ill give you very special price ;)
Peter Zich said 12:04PM on 3-17-2008
No thanks, I already got the 802.11n, and I had an AS gift card so it was free.
Ed said 10:31AM on 3-17-2008
If you really feel it's necessary to reference stereotypes regarding other countries in your posts (Swiss army knives, accuracy and so on), at least try and write them in a way that makes sense.
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motech said 10:34AM on 3-17-2008
does anyknow know the maximum number of airtunes clients possible on one network if they were all wired at the same time . .
in other words, if i had 8 airport express (all hard wired to network) and 5 apple tv's (again all hard wired to network) - would i be able to stream itunes music to all zones at same time without issue?
i currently have a clients system where i stream up to 7 airtunes zones at once without issue (5 express, 2 apple tv - all hard wired)
i wish apple had better documentation on this instead of me just continuing to buy and try . .
anyone ?
: )
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Tom said 3:08PM on 3-17-2008
5 * 200 (if you bought after price drop) = $1000
8 * 100 = $800
$1800
you could buy a nice receiver and run wires for less
motech said 3:28PM on 3-17-2008
we have nice receivers . .and nice amps . .
your missing the point . .
it acts like as a multi zone music system for whole house audio . . im not gonna get in to the details but basically choose which room you want on and when - all from a "wireless remote"
it does the same thing but way cheaper the sonos or logitech solutions and works perfectly with itunes - which everyone already has . .
ike said 5:20PM on 3-17-2008
If you have 7 working already, I don't think you'll have a problem adding more. You'll be limited by IP addresses (up to 254 addresses depending on your network configuration) and the maximum throughput of your Ethernet switch (although I'm not sure how much bandwidth AirTunes requires).
motech said 6:53PM on 3-17-2008
i guess thats the ultimate question . .
whats airtunes actual limitation ?!
Tanner Osborn said 10:40AM on 3-17-2008
I might be missing something big here, but why is this such a big deal? How is this one different from the first one?
I don't really know anything about the first one... but I thought it was just like the update. Unless it wasn't using wireless N or something...
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Adam said 10:45AM on 3-17-2008
It was using 802.11g before and now they have upgraded the hardware to be 802.11N so that is why people are excited, now it will be much faster!
Galley said 11:49AM on 3-17-2008
Because any "G" devices on an "N" network cause the network to run at "G" speeds.
Tom said 3:10PM on 3-17-2008
not only what the other two said (n speeds are faster), but n can run on 5ghz and so if you live in an apartment building you can get on a clean range and not worry about interference so much
Mike Conjoice said 10:57AM on 3-17-2008
Still doesnt appear to be on the UK store. Is it possible with AirTunes to stream a different song to each Express?
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robogobo said 1:42PM on 3-17-2008
sure, if you have different machines.
Simon said 11:52AM on 3-17-2008
I wish someone would explain how one of these things differs from a base station. Apple's website isn't much help either: lot's about the benefits but not much factual info. Do you need a base station as well as one of these? Am I right in thinking it's just a range extender with some extras? Or have I missed the point?
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Mike Conjoice said 11:59AM on 3-17-2008
From what I see Simon, once it is hardwired, it acts as an access point, using Airport Utility to configure it so you can use it places like hotel rooms to make the existing ethernet access wireless.
PSM said 12:00PM on 3-17-2008
The point of the Airport Express is that it's the size of your laptop's power brick, and very easily transportable. It lacks some of the ethernet ports of the Extreme, and apparently network disk capabilities. But it does have an audio input for Airtunes, which I believe the Extreme still does not.
You don't need an Extreme to use the Express. I prefer to use mine to set up a portable network at work that I can take home with me every day.
toddkrokowski said 1:00PM on 3-17-2008
Does anyone know if the extreme and the express share the same antenna? Moreover, does the extreme give you additional range above and beyond the express? I can't really justify paying an extra $80 for a few more ethernet ports although the gigabit transfer would be pretty nice...
Thanks!!