Apple Time Capsule MB276LL/A (AirPort Extreme Plus 500 GB Storage)
by Apple Computer
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List Price: Our Price: $169.99 You Save: $129.01 (43%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple Time Capsule MB276LL/A (AirPort Extreme Plus 500 GB Storage)
Customer Review: Another reason I switched to Mac
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently switched to the Mac world after years of PC use. I had an iPod and loved the way it "just worked" the way it was supposed to. I bought a MacBook Pro, and decided to upgrade my wireless network to Time Capsule because it offered both 802.11n wireless speed and a built-in hard drive for backups. Time Capsule followed my experiences with iPod and the MacBook Pro -- everything works as it is supposed to work.
Setup took 10 minutes (I followed the instructions as written), and the first Time Machine backup was a little slow (3 hours for 80 GB), but not as slow as I had feared from some of the reviews. I did use an ethernet cable for the first backup as the documentation suggested. The other backups are quick, and they run in the background so I do not even notice them any more. The box does get a little warm, but I would not say that it is hot, as others have stated.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with my purchase. I would highly recommend it.
Customer Review: Works as advertised - airport extreme is very fast!
Summary: 4 Stars
Despite the negative reviews I decided to make the leap for a Time Capsule and don't regret it. Setup (as a second wireless network) was very easy and even though most reviewers said to do the first backup over a wire, I decided to try over wireless. I started it before going to bed and when I awoke it was long done. By the time stamps it looks like my 100GB of disk use on my MacBook Pro was done after 5 hours. I tried a few unscientific 802.11n benchmark tests for wireless performance and it came out two to three times faster than my existing 50mb wireless router. My only issue is that the user interface for Time Machine isn't very flexible - I'd like some options on the backup schedule. You shouldn't need a third party app to control the schedule.
I did go for the 500GB model after reading a review [...] that only the 500GB has a server-class hard drive within; the 1TB model has a low cost hard drive. I'd prefer having more space but opt for reliability over storage.
Customer Review: Ethernet/wireless router + quiet hard drive, potential configuration trouble in mixed PC/Win network, lacks some usability
Summary: 3 Stars
Good:
- quiet!!!
- single box for both router and hard drive, compact
- nice design
- works nicely with Leopard TimeMachine, providing automatic backup
Bad:
- any non-trivial setup make take a while (I had trouble while upgrading to Leopard which refused to see TimeCapsule, while it was working ok with Tiger; my Win notebook never saw it even after Bonjour installation)
- heats up even when hard disk is idle
- any configuration change (like turning on/off wireless network) resets device with service interruption (so my iMac doesn't have Internet for half a minute)
Most wanted improvement is to add physical switch on the box, that can turn wireless network on/off without interrupting ethernet connectivity - that would be good for occasional wireless network users that have wired connection for main computer and need wireless network only a fraction of their time.
Customer Review: Not Ready for Prime Time
Summary: 1 Stars
The concept is great and, given Apple's history, I'm sure that eventually this product will perform as promised but right now it does not live up to expectations. The wireless network works great. The printer server works well, but not perfectly. The real problem is the backup hard drive combined with Time Machine which is a disaster. If you buy this product you should expect to have your computer taken over frequently by buggy software (it will freeze). You should expect to have to use the hard shut-down to reclaim your computer on a regular basis. It does work sometimes. You can get backups made if you are persistent. You can retrieve files that were erased by mistake. But, the hassle factor is very very high. Buying an external hard drive and using some third-party software like Super Duper is really a better option for backup. I have two friends who also purchased a Time Capsule and both have given up on using the built-in hard drive.Customer Review: Peace of mind
Summary: 5 Stars
I got the 500 GB model of the Time Capsule to back up my PowerBook G4 running Leopard. It replaced an older Airport base station. I was slightly confused initially about how to move the existing settings over, but the set up went quite smoothly. I set up Time Machine to backup everything on my laptop. I did my first backup using gigabit ethernet. The backup took over 5 hrs for about 80 GB of data-yes it does take at least 10 times longer than the theoretical speed of the ethernet. Since I take my laptop to work everyday, this set up works well for me. As soon as I am home and turn on the PowerBook, Time Machine does its thing. So far Time Capsule has worked flawlessly. It has not required any resetting or unpowering- something I had to do with the previous base station when my wireless connections went south. I recommend Time Capsule without any reservations- works as advertised. Painless backup-all backups should work like this.