Apple launches 802.11n Airport Express right on cue

What's this? New Product from Apple on a Monday? Why, yes, yes it is. The 802.11n Airport Express rumored over the weekend just became official. $99 takes the little iTunes streaming, pocket base station home to a draft-n network near you. Yes, today.

[Camperton @ Mar 17th 2008 8:32AM]

I wonder what took them so long.

[mkeough23 @ Mar 17th 2008 10:23AM]

"Boom"

[Chuckles McGee @ Mar 17th 2008 10:32AM]

"Get N or get out" to harken back to the Nintendo days of yore.

[Harkonian @ Mar 17th 2008 11:37AM]

I'm still wondering what's taking them so long to support 64-bit encryption on the Airport Express. All we get is 40 or 128 bit and some of my devices (I'm talking to you, TiVo) won't connect to anything but 64-bit encryption.

[kL @ Mar 17th 2008 4:00PM]

@Harkonian: 64bit and 40bit WEP encryption is the same thing. It's a 64bit key, but actually only 40 bits are used for encryption. But don't bother with it, it can be cracked in 15 minutes. 128bit (AKA 104 bit) WEP takes a day. Only WPA holds these days.

[Harkonian @ Mar 17th 2008 5:14PM]

I would happily use WPA or WPA2, but, once again, TiVo does not support these using anything but the TiVo branded wireless USB adapter. Since I have a non-TiVo adapter, I'm fubared. I suppose I could just buy a second airport express and hook my TiVo up to it via the ethernet port...

[Rafer @ Mar 17th 2008 10:54PM]

Not even apple puts this news on their front page.

[stiltskin @ Mar 18th 2008 4:59AM]

Ever thought of mac address filtering its not the safest but it's alright.

[Esat @ Mar 17th 2008 8:45AM]

So, is this launching today?

[Kizorblade @ Mar 17th 2008 9:07AM]

"Yes, today."

[Esat @ Mar 17th 2008 9:12AM]

Perhaps I should have added "/Sarcasm" to the end of my post above to make things clearer :)

[Kizorblade @ Mar 17th 2008 9:25AM]

My bad. Words can't convey speech. Damnit.

[Allan @ Mar 17th 2008 8:49AM]

I wonder how much I could get for one of my g versions... Perhaps I could sell one of them to upgrade to an n.

[John @ Mar 17th 2008 8:53AM]

Dear Apple,

Thanks for making it stick out from the wall like that so I can kick it with my leg every time I walk by. Keep up the good work!

John

[mister_s @ Mar 17th 2008 8:57AM]

well, you cud consider learning to walk a few inches away from the wall.
If thats too hard, you could consider making a hole in your wall to embed it yourself.

[aaron @ Mar 17th 2008 8:57AM]

@ John

How about..."Dear God, thanks for making me blind and clumsy."

[Allan @ Mar 17th 2008 9:01AM]

Dear John,

Please learn how to walk. Keep up the good work!

Apple

No, srsly though... get a Griffin airbase for it or something.

[ollie @ Mar 17th 2008 9:26AM]

...or you could use apple's power adapter extension cord to get it away from the outlet.

[Chris @ Mar 17th 2008 9:35AM]

Hey guys, take it easy on John. He only has one outlet in his house and it just so happens to reside in a 2 ft. wide hallway in his house. I think you can see the obvious problem there.

[Kenny @ Mar 17th 2008 9:48AM]

How 'bout them doorknobs?

[roole @ Mar 17th 2008 10:05AM]

Are you referring to John? Stop insulting doorknobs.

[Alex Padilla @ Mar 17th 2008 10:40AM]

Holy hell, everyone is high ranked.

[booticon @ Mar 17th 2008 10:51AM]

I CAN HAS INVISIBAL PLUG?

[John @ Mar 17th 2008 11:16AM]

Sorry, everyone. I have clumsy fingers, too. I forgot to include this:

Dear God,

Thanks for giving me MS and making me need leg braces to walk. I really enjoy the rough days of getting from point A to point B without bumping into things. I also really like having to preface everything I say with "btw I have MS" so people don't flame me first. You're awesome.

John

[rtdunham @ Mar 17th 2008 11:39AM]

John, I'm sorry about your misfortune, if your post is sincere. I have a wonderful sister-in-law with MS, so I hope you'd not joke about it. I don't think you did.

But don't lose your ability to laugh. Some of those retorts--given the info in your original post--were pretty clever and funny. Laugh WITH us, ok?

peace
terry

[huh @ Mar 17th 2008 11:40AM]

You guys are a bunch of apologists. Why is there such a resistance to accepting consumer input for what is obviously not a great design? If Nokia released a power adapter like this, there'd be web sites dedicated to "Side-Pluggin," but because it's Apple, it's the best thing ever.

[Jeff @ Mar 17th 2008 12:03PM]

i agree with ollie. Get the power adapter extension cord and then mount it on the wall flush (or on a shelf, or in the ceiling.)

personally, the design is fine for me, because it sits behind my stereo components anyway. (and any other angle would likely obstruct the other outlets.)

[hedron @ Mar 17th 2008 7:13PM]

I agree. I have one and the range is utter crap. I move into the next room and the signal craps out. I have other access points that I can actually go outside and still connect. Apple really put their foot in their mouth with this crap design.

[happy_penguin @ Mar 17th 2008 1:02PM]

It's fair to criticize Apple for designing the Airport Express the way it did. It does stick out quite far. But having said that, I have one and I love it. I have mom set up with one too and she loves it. We both use them for streaming iTunes. It hasn't been a problem for me or her but I can see why people might have a problem with it. I am sure there are plenty of things that could be done to alleviate the issue.

[David @ Mar 17th 2008 2:04PM]

Get the Griffin AirBase stand for the Airport Exp. if you can't stop kicking it out of the wall. http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/airbase

When Apple designs a product, they leave a door open for 3rd party accessories.... A door which is frequently slammed on the accessory makers' feeble fingers.

[roole @ Mar 17th 2008 2:35PM]

@John, sorry to hear about the MS.

As said before, it is all done in good humor and hopefully you can see that. Indeed, a cursory scan of your own posting history -- or, I should say flaming history -- shows that you expect precisely that, and in spades, from your own post-ees.

[Josh* @ Mar 17th 2008 11:29PM]

Holy damn. The thing is small as your palm and we still find a way to bitch? It's not a power brick, it's the entire f*cking product. Jesus I am seriously lost for words here

[ScooterDe @ Mar 18th 2008 9:32AM]

what a pack of loser fanboys. John has a darn good point, regardless of his own physical status. The product has flawed design, and it is an Apple product. Go figure.

[TheSpecialist @ Mar 17th 2008 8:54AM]

Great news! Ordering one now.

[Dinesh @ Mar 17th 2008 8:56AM]

yay! Now I can finally extend my current N network without buying another AirPort Extreme.

[derF @ Mar 17th 2008 9:01AM]

Would 802.11g speed/performance be any better with this as compared to the 'old' Airport Express?

[Seth Porter @ Mar 17th 2008 9:07AM]

I don't think so, it looks like this version only adds 802.11n support. There is no mention of expanded range or speed boosting for non "n" networks.

[Maestro @ Mar 17th 2008 9:07AM]

If you ever need to be convinced that there is an Apple slant here...consider this..

If Linksys came out with an Wireless N bridge think it would get a story on Endadget? I fail to see how a product that is at least a year and a half behind the curve is news.

[KR @ Mar 17th 2008 9:12AM]

Uhh....

http://www.engadget.com/search/?q=linksys+wireless+n

[Camperton @ Mar 17th 2008 9:18AM]

The comparable product from Linksys is still using g/b speeds.

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1122062241008&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper&lid=4100839789B11

[thatkidmattt @ Mar 17th 2008 9:29AM]

"Oh God! Its another post about an Apple product! Never mind that it is one of their most useful product, Engadget should realize that Apple doesn't make real technology."

[Maestro @ Mar 17th 2008 9:47AM]

@ KR...the date on that Article is from October 2006. Thanks for proving my point though.

[Aaron @ Mar 17th 2008 10:12AM]

Apparently you missed the part about the equivalent product not being updated yet.

[KR @ Mar 17th 2008 11:25AM]

@ Maestro:

My point was that Engadget DOES write about Linksys and their various Wireless N products, thus negating your complaint that they wouldn't write about a Linksys product that's similar to the Airport Express. It seems that in all likelihood, they would.

Also, I did not link to any specific article, but rather a whole list of Engadget articles from various dates.

Thanks for being an idiot though.

[Jeff @ Mar 17th 2008 12:28PM]

ignoring your idiotic "oh noes Engadget hearts Apple 2 much!" nonsense....

you said it's "a product that is at least a year and a half behind the curve"

care to qualify that?

I've been looking for a plug-and-play (literally, plug it into the wall and it basically auto-configures, or at least has a "setup wizard" for both mac and PC that is totally painless) 802.11N router with WPA2 or 128bit WEP, a built in firewall, and works with A/B/G/N2.0. It also needs to be a wireless bridge (wireless extender) that'll let me stream audio, and will act as a print-server.

...in a compact, portable, nicely-designed form. for about $100.

can you show me one?

I'm especially interested in the one that apparently came out "at least a year and a half ago"

[Josh* @ Mar 18th 2008 1:49PM]

Wow, you must feeling pretty stupid right about now

[Seth Porter @ Mar 17th 2008 9:10AM]

The apple community is large, and a huge population of engadget's readers use apple computers. For them, this is a big deal. Sure, engadget doesn't need this many posts on apple, and i think i remember seeing a 802.11n airport rumor on here last week, but i think its still fair for them to post apple product releases. Just my 2cents.

[Pete @ Mar 17th 2008 9:16AM]

A quick question. Can I use the AE as a bridge and share internet out of the ethernet port on the AE?

[ollie @ Mar 17th 2008 9:30AM]

sure, but there has to be a current wireless network that the first AE is getting it's connection from...

A better approach would be to put them in WDS mode, for wireless bridging.

[lx @ Mar 17th 2008 9:18AM]

Tech Specs:
"One 10/100 Ethernet port for connecting a DSL, cable modem or Ethernet network"

Is the possibility of a connection to a Ethernet network a new feature? I'm not sure, but I guess so. If so, it's the perfect enhancement of my wirelss network!

Thanks Apple!