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: $75.00 You Save: $24.99 (25%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple Airport Express MB321LL/A [NEWEST VERSION]
Customer Review: Best for home use, basic needs, and reliability
Summary: 5 Stars
I have owned the previous b/g version of the Airport Express wireless router for many years, and even though it died about a year ago, I still vouch for its reliability. Compared to other low-cost routers that failed before its time due to shoddy construction, leaking capacitors, etc.
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PROS:
- Consistent connection
- AirPlay (formerly AirTunes) audio support
- No-fuss printer sharing
- Small size
- Adequate wireless range
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CONS:
- Wireless-only
- Hard to set up and manage; then again, almost all routers are hard to set up, and since I am tech wiz when it comes to things, it's hard to determine how hard for a normal user to set this up
- There is no web-based administration like other routers
- Lack of advanced features; this is definitely not a professional router
- AirPlay audio from videos can go out sync with the video; of course, this is probably a limitation of the originating iTunes or iOS device itself, so I recommend using this strictly for audio
- Bright green led; I had to tape this up since I use it in my bedroom
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MISC:
- If you use an analog cable instead of optical, you'll likely to get hum on your audio system.
OVERALL this is a good reliable router for basic uses with decent range, AirPlay support, and printer sharing. It's small and compact, which is very suitable for travel.
But if you needs are fairly advanced and need more control, I recommend getting a different router, particularly one with DD-WRT support.
Customer Review: does no longer work with windows 7, used to work with xp
Summary: 2 Stars
Ridiculous customer experience. Avoid like the plague.
I was surprised how hard this was to set up on my mac, all the easy instructions did not exactly match what was happening. But finally I got it to work. And once it was set up, I loved being able to use it for both accessing my usb attached printer as well as playing mp3's through itunes to the stereo system I attached on the audio-out port.
I got it working for both the mac and the windows xp laptop. All was well for about half a year.
Once it came time for the next upgrade cycle, and the windows xp laptop of my wife got replaced with a windows 7 laptop, she could no longer connect to the printer. Bonjour finds it, all seems to configure easy as a breeze, and when you click print the laptop claims it got printed, just the printer never got anything.
Support from Dell (who sold us the laptop and only offer windows 7 on it) worked with us on the phone for an hour going through moves I had already tried before (uninstall / reinstall bonjour and printer drivers, install with printer directly attached and show that it can print, then remote attach it again and use bonjour to detect it...) finally told us to work with apple support.
Support from apple walked us through the same thing and told us to call microsoft.
Microsoft told us it costs us more money to get this resolved. We declined.
Unless you are a mac only household, avoid like the plague.
Apple and Microsoft did not work together to ensure that you as a customer get what you paid for.
Customer Review: Setup on Vista not easy
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this device to port music to my stereo via my PC (vista). So, I have Vista running and iTunes on the pc wich contains my library of music. I also have an iPod touch. I have loaded the remote control app from apple on the iPod touch. I have an existing wireless router that connects all devices in my home (sony ps3, ipod touch, laptops (2) and pc (1). I am using WEP wireless security because that is the only way that seemed to work to get my ps3 on the network.
I found that the airport express will not work with wep security. I am using the device to 'join' my existing network-- not extend or create a new network -- which I also read does not work with 3rd part routers (but double check this fact). When you specify wep and then enter the key in the airport express wizard and hit continue, it doesn't move -- meaning that it doesn't like the code. I tried a '$' before the hex value, no luck. I tried quotes before and after the ascii version, no luck -- both of these hints from the apple website. I then found that I can create a second ssid on my existing router and use a different encryption standard, in my case I used wpa2-psk with AES cipher, and this worked. I changed the setting in the wizard for the airport express and it joined immediately. Then the little icon appeared at the bottom of the itunes screen to use the airport express's connected speakers -- done. And I can remote control the itunes on my computer with my itouch -- awesome. I can now play all of the music on my computer on my stereo - wirelessly, with an awesome remote.
Customer Review: Excellent Tool
Summary: 5 Stars
The Express base station is the baby brother to the bigger extreme base station. It can do many of the same things as the Extreme but is much more compact and hence an ideal repeater base station to extend the network inexpensively around the house. It supports WPA2 encryption, which is the only standard that hasn't yet been shown to be compromise-able in minutes.
The express base station is quite compact, with a built-in power supply, from which it can hang on the wall. Simply install a ethernet port nearby and you have a excellent wireless bridge. The express can stream audio from a Mac to an attached appliance via a 3.5mm headphone jack (analog audio as well as fiber digital). The express can act as a print server via its USB port but it will not mount USB hard drives like the extreme.
I have found the range of the express base station to be somewhat inferior to that of the extreme base station (IIRC, the express has only one antenna while the extreme has 3). Additionally, the express base station doesn't offer a Guest network option in addition to a secure one. Lastly, while the extreme base station has one WAN and three LAN port, the express base station only has one dual-purpose ethernet jack.
Some people like to travel with these base stations in order to allow them to quickly set up a wireless hotspot in a hotel room where there is no, or marginal, wireless coverage. The unit is small enough to fit into bags easily and the power supply prongs for the US version simply fold into the unit when they are not in use.
Customer Review: OMGLUVITLUVITLUVIT!
Summary: 5 Stars
Apple's AirPort express is truly awesome. Such a versatile little gizmo. I bought it for use as a means to obtaining whole-house audio, since I have neither the technical knowledge, carpentry skills, or time to wire my entire house for sound. I simply took an older stereo of mine, hooked up the speakers, plugged in the AirPort Express, set it up, and in LITERALLY MINUTES, I was streaming audio to the stereo. I set it up in my master bedroom, so now I can do chores in the house and hear my music everywhere (my system includes an AppleTV hooked up to a separate stereo/entertainment center with Bose speakers and my Apple computer and its Monsoon speakers & subwoofer). I would definitely recommend getting the Apple Airport Express Stereo Connection Kit w/Monster Cables--I'm using the optical stereo connection that comes with that and the sound is great. Plus, it includes an extension for the wall plug on the AirPort Express, so you don't have to limit yourself to having the AirPort plugged directly in the wall--you have a few feet to play with if your stereo (or printer or whatever you're hooking up to it) isn't right there. The only thing I would change is its size--it's certainly not huge, but there's always room for improvement; oh, and maybe also some way to stream video over your network--can't have it all! But in general, I love this product and I'm actually thinking of buying another one to hook up to ANOTHER stereo in my living room. You should definitely get this if you're considering it--it's well worth the investment.