AppleInsider Staff
The new Guest Network feature, available on the new AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule, allows you to set up a secondary network for friends and visitors with Internet-only access so you don't have to hand out your WiFi password.
Meanwhile, the new combined 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz mode allows your AirPort base stations to simultaneously support iPhones and other 802.11b/g devices operating at 2.4 GHz, while also broadcasting 802.11n wide signals in the 5GHz band to maximize throughput for notebooks and devices such as Apple TV.
Previous-generation AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule models can only run in one mode or the other, providing either wide compatibility or the highest possible network performance, but not both.
Also new to Time Capsule — and oddly omitted from any of Apple's press-releases — is that MobileMe subscribers using Mac OS X 10.5.x Leopard can now now access all of their files on their Time Capsule drive over the Internet.
You need only to register their Time Capsule with your MobileMe account. The Time Capsule drive will then appear in the Finder sidebar of your Mac just like any other attached drive.
"It's like having your own personal file server wherever you go," Apple says.
The new Time Capsule, which combines an 802.11n router and server-grade hard disk for automatic wireless back-up with Time Machine, and is immediately available in two models: a 500GB model for $299 and a 1TB model for $499.
The rear of Apple's AirPort Extreme.
The rear of Apple's Time Capsule backup appliance.
The AirPort Extreme Base Station is also available immediately for a suggested retail price of $179.
Malcolm Owen
Wesley Hilliard
Christine McKee
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
48 Comments
No 2TB? Geez, way to disappoint.
The Guest Network and dual-band networking features are very, very nice, (I'm definitely going to get the new AE) but Apple is really stretching credibility to suggest that a 1TB hard drive is worth $320.
The Guest Network and dual-band networking features are very, very nice, (I'm definitely going to get the new AE) but Apple is really stretching credibility to suggest that a 1TB hard drive is worth $320.
sure wish I could just load Iphoto and Itunes on it and play off all my macs.. come on apple..Will go get the new extreme and keep my old one to ..
I wonder if the other airport extreme n versions could be updated (even for a fee) to support guest and dual band. I would love to use dual band, all my devices except my wife's and my 3G's are N and I hate running at g just for iPhone's! I just can't justify a $200 upgrade for these features.
I wonder if the other airport extreme n versions could be updated (even for a fee) to support guest and dual band. I would love to use dual band, all my devices except my wife's and my 3G's are N and I hate running at g just for iPhone's! I just can't justify a $200 upgrade for these features.
I've been running two different Airport Basestations for this reason. The n serves up my laptop; the G, plugged into my n via Ethernet, serves up another g network for the iPhones and guests who come over the house. That way, my laptop always gets maximum bandwidth. The Apple TV and mini are plugged into the Airport via Ethernet, so they never interfere.