Apple takes Extreme route to faster wireless

 

Gallery

Posted on 10 Jan 2007 at 10:07

Apple has introduced a new AirPort Extreme wireless networking hub, its first to employ the faster 802.11n Wi-Fi specification.

Using MIMO (Multiple In Multiple Out) smart antennae combined with the 802.11n technology, AirPort Extreme now delivers greater data throughput and extends wireless network coverage across a wider area than before.

It has a dual-band antennae supporting both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless frequencies to reduce the possibility of interference from appliances and cordless phones that operate in the 2.4GHz frequency. It is backward-compatible with Macs and PCs using previous generation 802.11b/g wireless technologies.

The base station has built-in USB ports to enable wireless printing to a USB printer or for connecting an external USB hard drive as a shared drive accessible to anyone on the network. It supports up to 50 simultaneous users and includes Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA-2), 128-bit WEP encryption and a built-in NAT firewall.

Apple has dispensed with the 'spaceship' styling of the old base station, replacing it with a Mac mini-style enclosure that matches the new Apple TV box.

'The new Airport Extreme is the most powerful and easy to use Wi-Fi base station that we have ever made,' said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. 'With five times the performance and twice the range, now you can transfer bigger files faster and get access to the Internet and your favourite digital media from many areas in your house you couldn't reach before.'

The new AirPort Extreme Base Station will be available in February for a suggested retail price of £119 (inc. VAT). All currently shipping Macs (except the 17in iMac with 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor) will support the 802.11n technology when updated with 802.11n Enabler software, which ships with base station.

The AirPort Extreme Base Station is based on an IEEE 802.11n draft specification and is compatible with 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g. The specification is expected to be ratified in its current form in January 2008.

Author: Simon Aughton