Apple Airport Express MB321LL/A [NEWEST VERSION]
by Apple Computer
![Apple Airport Express MB321LL/A [NEWEST VERSION]](/images/Apple-Airport-Express-MB321LL-A-NEWEST-VERSION-B0015YJOK2-L.jpg)
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List Price: Our Price: $98.87 You Save: $1.12 (1%) Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 2 months Buy Used: from $49.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple Airport Express MB321LL/A [NEWEST VERSION]
Customer Review: A Wonderful Little Cube
Summary: 5 Stars
The Apple Airport Express is, as you might expect from an Apple product, straightforward and rather simple. I'll just jump to how this affected me, and how it will PROBABLY affect you (if you are in need of something like this). I moved into a dorm where I couldn't use a lot of the technology I'd bought (ex. Apple remote on iPod Touch) because my University doesn't support wireless Internet inside the residence halls. So here's the good things about this product:
[+] You can use wifi devices in areas that do not have wifi connection (Ethernet, etc) because the Airport Express creates a network for you.
[+] You can print wirelessly, which is cooler than it sounds. Great for clearing up desk space, which leads me into:
[+] AirTunes. You can play iTunes music wirelessly, eliminating the need for your speakers being plugged into your computer's headphone jack.
[+] Both PC & Mac compatible
[+] Up to 10 people (including yourself) can hop onto your network - which you can password protect - and print using your printer. My roommate and I struck up a deal - he bought paper and he printed over my connection.
And of course, to be fair, I'll point out some minor drawbacks I encountered:
[-] Sound only comes through the AirPort Express through AirTunes. If you'd like other sounds (YouTube, any other media player, etc.) to come out of the wireless speaker setup, you can't. This should be changed.
[-] Other people connected to the network can play music through AirTunes, which can be surprisingly obnoxious (or just surprising). I believe there may be a setting to turn off AirTunes but I'm not sure.
Overall, it's a nifty little box for a decent price tag. Of course, if you pay $80 or so more, you can get an AirPort Extreme. Or if you need backup storage with Time Machine, Apple's Time Capsule has all the features of the Airport Express in it (minues AirTunes & wireless printing). If you're looking for something light, pretty cheap, and a great, easy way to make wireless out of wired, Apple's Airport Express is your best choice.
Customer Review: Airtunes is Awesome and Playback is Gapless
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this just for the Airtunes feature to stream music from the computer in one room to my stereo in the living room. It works great and was easy to set up. In case anyone is wondering, playback is gapless (no pause in between tracks) so no worries when firing up a multi-track mix.
For Vista (and presumably any other version of windows) you have to connect the AE via Ethernet cable to your router when first setting up, which the directions fail to tell you. After wasting some time trying to figure it out, I followed the first 5 steps of S. Monroe's instructions (currently rated most helpful review) and then followed the setup wizard from there on out (thanks S. Monroe!). Everything worked fine after that.
Also, note that it doesn't come with any cables whatsoever. If your receiver has an optical input, I recommend a toslink to mini toslink adapter such as this one: 6ft Toslink to Mini Toslink Cable. That will give you much better sound quality than the standard mini to RCA connection and it's pretty cheap.
One issue that I haven't figured out how to resolve is that you can't play music through your computer speakers and stream it to the AE at the same time. Well, you can, but because the AE is wireless there is a slight delay between the stereo playback (wirelessly through the AE) and the computer speaker playback (direct wiring to your sound card) and it's really un-listenable due to the echo effect. If I figure out a way around this, I will update my review (I'm hoping you can add a delay to the wired signal in millisecond increments via the AE software and I just haven't found that option yet).
Bottom line: the AE works great for streaming music and set-up is a breeze for PCs if you follow S. Monroe's instructions instead of the instructions that came with the product.
Cheers
Customer Review: APPLE AIPORT EXPRESS REVIEW
Summary: 5 Stars
KEY FEATURES
Easy installation - Whether you are an expert or not, you will require approximately the same time to install this device. There is my ethernet cable that plugs into my airport and then my speakers are plugged into it.
Compact - The device is compact and doesn't have any wires, thereby saving you space on your desk since it's just attached to my power spike (the power outlet with multiple sockets)
Genius Features - I can be anywhere in my apartment and play music using itunes either on my windows laptop, Apple iMac or my iPod touch. You see using Airport Express, you can create a network allowing you to stream music all over your house. I still don't know how to make Youtube videos and VLC stream music wirelessly using the airport. An AMBER light goes on when the airport express is restarting a GREEN light when it's strong..
Easy Accessibility - I say it's easily accessible because it never goes down. I have used many modems and wireless routers that need to be reset time and again. I never switch this thing off, even when I'm at work and not one occasion has it failed to give wifi signals.
Speedier downloads - I've used wifi on my windows laptop, ipod touch and mac desktop - on all three the speeds were consistent. Other modems (linksys) require you to change settings and can be confusing for some (like me)
Lastly, it looks good and there about five or six more features that i shall discover as I go along. Those who are hesitant about the price can opt for a $30 modem also but why go through the hassle of "complicated installation" and "port forwarding/ opening ports/static ip" and all of that stuff that leaves even an ex-computer tech like me confused. Very confused. So avert the confusion and choose this ((just a friendly suggestion))
Thank you.
Customer Review: Fast. Compact. Boosts your Verizon FiOS box
Summary: 5 Stars
The Airport Express is NOT just another 802.11n wireless router. It's ultra fast, can serve as a print server for a single USB printer, and send iTunes from your computer to your home stereo or powered satellite speakers. But what I really like about the Airport Express compared to other wirelss routers is that it is unbelievably compact. It's so small, you can easily slip it into your laptop case or pocket to take on the road. Then, if you're at a location that only provides a wired network port... voila, you've got your own wireless network.
Boost your Verizon FiOS box:
I recently upgraded from DSL to Verizon FiOS, and was disappointed to learn that the MI424WR wireless broadband router supplied is only 802.11g compliant, limiting the theoretical maximum wireless speed to 54Mbps. So I turned off the modem's wireless feature, connected my little Airport Express to it via Ethernet, set it to Bridge mode, and now I'm back to 802.11n, transmitting at twice the speed (over 100Mbps). Plus, the 802.11n technology provides longer range and more resistance to signal interference from other sources.
Simple Airport setup:
Some DSL/cable modems have the username and password already saved within them. In these cases, you'll use the Airport Utility application to set the Airport Express to "Bridge mode". Other DSL/cable modems pass along the username and password information from your computer (or Airport) each time you log in via PPPoe. If you have one of these types of connections, then you'll need to use the Airport Utility application to save the username and password into the Airport Express under the PPPoe pane (a one-time setup). For both setups, the wireless computer would use "DHCP" in the Network preferences under the "TCP/IP" pane.
Customer Review: Surprisingly Excellent
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this from Best Buy (I had a gift card to use) about a month and a half ago. I was set on getting the full Airport since I have a long narrow condo and I wanted to be able to have a strong connection everywhere. Best Buy was out of the Airport, however, so I decided to give the express a try and exchange it later if I wanted to.
It took me 15 minutes to setup (I have a mac) and I can't remember having a dropped connection once. I also have a Dell PC that I use for extended periods of time for work (I work from home 2 days a week) and it also interfaces with the router flawlessly. It's been 100% reliable which is such a luxury to me as my old netgear router disconnected all the time.
Now one thing to keep in mind is in my current home there is not an overpopulation of wireless networks -- unlike at the apartment I had the netgear where there were way too many networks and the 2.4ghz frequency was probably crowded.
I notice that most of the negative reviews are when trying to use this to extend a network. I can't speak to this, but for the average user who is looking primarily for a reliable network (and the bonus streaming music feature) this router should do the trick. Like any router, I would definitely recommend purchasing it with at least a 30 day period to return as every situation is different with wireless networking and there's no getting around needing to just try some out.
My only negative comment is that I just found out it only supports 10 users at a time -- much lower than a lot of routers. This normally wouldn't be a problem, but I was intending to host a live fantasy sports draft in september with 16 friends. Hmm...