Apple intros Airport Extreme with iPhone-ready dual-band mode

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Apple intros Airport Extreme with iPhone-ready dual-band mode

Along with across-the-board updates to its Mac desktop computers, Apple today quietly introduced a new version of its Airport Extreme Base Station, featuring a new dual-band Wi-Fi mode that improves wireless performance on recent computers that share networks with devices such as the iPhone and iPod touch. The new dual-band support lets 802.11b/g devices, such as older computers, the iPhone, and the iPod touch, connect using the 2.4GHz wireless band, while simultaneously allowing 802.11n devices, such as modern computers and the Apple TV, to connect over the higher-speed 5GHz band, ensuring the fastest possible wireless performance for all devices on the network. In addition, the new Extreme offers guest networking features, support for up to 50 devices, the ability to share an external USB printer or hard drive—including over the Internet via a MobileMe account—and more. Apple’s new Airport Extreme Base Station is available now and sells for $180; the same dual-band and other features were added to the company’s Time Capsule wireless backup routers, which remain priced at $299 for the 500GB model and $499 for the 1TB model.

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Comments

1

I guess this means the next generation of the iPhone will still have only 802.11b/g wifi capabilities and not be upgraded to 802.11n.

Posted by TosaDeac on March 3, 2009 at 10:13 AM (PDT)

2

If the new iPhone had 802.11n, then I will upgrade my “G” AirPort Express. It cuts out whenever I run the microwave.

Posted by Galley in Greenville, SC on March 3, 2009 at 11:19 AM (PDT)

3

I’m wondering if the new Extreme Base Station is still hobbled so that you can’t add an external hard disk and make it into Time Capsule.

Posted by Just Some Human on March 4, 2009 at 12:09 PM (PDT)

4

Not sure what you mean. The old Extreme already works fine with an external HD as a time capsule. I have ben using mine that way for almost a year.

Posted by Pale Rider on March 4, 2009 at 2:53 PM (PDT)

5

In response to Just Some Human post I have also been using an external hard disk as a Time Capsule for over a year. Plus, I have user accounts setup on the disk. You need to connect the hard drive directly to your Mac(s). Setup your Time Machine Backup to it then either connect it back to your Airport Extreme or if you have user accounts setup on the drive and want each user to backup to their own “root” folder then you need to “show hidden files” on it via Onyx, the terminal or other utility software. Move the newly created hidden time machine file to the root of the user account for the Mac currently connected to it. Repeat this for all Macs and connect it back to your Airport Extreme. Presto… Time Machine on and External Airport Disk.

Posted by zBrain on August 8, 2009 at 5:57 AM (PDT)

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