![]() An eight-second buffer helps maintain audio quality even when you're simultaneously using the AirPort Express to surf the Internet or share files. This feature worked flawlessly for us, and it is the perfect way to stream music directly from your laptop to your sound system. (The audio port on the AirPort Express can accept standard analog minijack connectors or optical digital models, but you'll need to supply the cables.) iTunes automatically recognizes a sound system connected to the AirPort Express and allows you to choose that connection for playback. The most innovative feature of the AirPort Express is its ability to stream iTunes wirelessly from a computer to a set of powered speakers or a stereo. The integrated USB print server also helps set the AirPort Express apart, and it works with a wide range of printers. This makes the AirPort Express a handy traveling companion that you can transport easily and use on the road to convert broadband over Ethernet into a wireless signal in your hotel room, similar to Netgear's new WGR101 travel router. The power adapter for the AirPort Express is built into the unit, and the plug swivels directly out of the top, so there's no additional power brick. The unit itself is only slightly larger than a pack of playing cards, and it includes a single 10/100 Ethernet port, a USB port that acts as a print server, and a standard mini audio jack for connecting the unit to a stereo or to powered speakers. The Apple AirPort Express packs a lot of nice features into a very compact package. Our only setup gripe is that the AirPort Express lacks a browser-based configuration tool, which means that you can access the unit only from computers with installed Admin Utility software. We were pleased to find that Apple included a number of helpful screenshots in the AirPort Express manual, illustrating how to make network configuration changes on Windows computers and easing setup for those with mixed Apple/Windows networks. Both the Apple and Windows versions of this utility are well designed and easy to use. If you have special network requirements that require manual IP-address configuration or the like, you can use the AirPort Admin Utility to tweak the unit to operate with any special settings you might have. Depending on the complexity of your network, this may be all you need to do to use the unit. The accompanying CD also includes a thorough 69-page manual for configuring the AirPort Express from a Windows PC.īasic setup is mostly automatic and involves little more than plugging the AirPort Express into an AC outlet, inserting the accompanying CD into a connected computer, and following the onscreen prompts that lead you through the installation of the AirPort Admin Utility and Apple's iTunes software. The package doesn't include an Ethernet cable, which you may need, depending on your network setup.Ī helpful 48-page quick-setup guide walks you through configuring the unit from a connected Mac. Despite the AirPort Express's versatility, setting one up is quite easy and well within the reach of a networking novice, although setup tasks vary depending on which functions you assign to the unit. You can also add print-server functionality and digital-audio streaming to any of these network scenarios. You can use the AirPort Express as a broadband router, as a standard access point, or as a wireless distribution system (WDS) repeater. The AirPort Express can play a number of roles on your network. ![]() The unit lacks an SPI firewall, and you can't control specific networking ports with it, but for basic wireless networking, the AirPort Express offers a nice array of features at an affordable price. The AirPort Express can also connect wirelessly to other AirPorts, which makes it easy for you to expand your wireless network without Ethernet cables or power-line gear to connect the devices. Music streaming via the AirPort Express works only with iTunes, but this feature nonetheless adds an innovative twist to what is already a versatile networking device. The compact unit is slightly smaller than a deck of cards and includes a 10/100 Ethernet port, an integrated 802.11g access point, a USB print server, and a mini stereo jack that you can use to connect a sound system to your wireless network. We've seen wireless routers shed bulk over the last few years, but Apple's new AirPort Express has shrunk to a new low. This is among the best compact wireless-networking devices available.
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