#Apple airport express best buy for free
#Apple airport express best buy software
#Apple airport express best buy mac

Here's another reason to consider an Apple-branded router: AppleCare coverage.

In other words, if you hook the AirPort Express up to your stereo or to speakers using the mini jack that's built into it, it will appear in iTunes as an AirPlay device, so you can stream audio to it. It's every bit as easy to configure because it works with the same utilities that support Apple's other routers, and it doubles as an AirPlay audio router.

#Apple airport express best buy software

But two things make it worth considering: Software and AirPlay. It's a tiny box with unremarkable network performance - relegated to 802.11n - and it's pricey for a device in its category. I'll readily admit that the AirPort Express is becoming a hard sell.

#Apple airport express best buy mac

You set it once and forget about it, and every time your Mac is connected to the network it'll back up, so you'll always have a way to recover in the event of a catastrophic failure. That makes it a cinch to use as a network-based backup system for the Mac. AirPort Utility, found in the Utilities folder of your Mac, can help you set up and manage an AirPort Extreme within a couple minutes of opening the box.ДЄpple's Time Capsule is much the same story -В it's the exact same device as the AirPort Extreme, though it's equipped with an internal 2 TB or 3 TB hard disk drive that's visible to the Time Machine software built into OS X.

#Apple airport express best buy for free

A fourth Gigabit Ethernet WAN port is used to connect to your Internet device - a cable or DSL modem or router, for example.Д«ut what really makes the AirPort Extreme special is the software that Apple includes on the Mac and makes available for free download for the PC. It comes with three Gigabit Ethernet ports on the back, along with a USB 2 port to attach a printer or an external hard drive that can be shared on the network. The AirPort Extreme was introduced last year, when Apple's Haswell-based MacBook Air made its debut - the first Mac to support 802.11ac, the faster Wi-Fi implementation that's now standard across the board in every Mac that Apple's released since then. The software's great at connecting your Apple router to the Internet and making sure it's properly configured for whatever you need to do. It's included in OS X in the Utilities folder you can download a Windows version, and a free App Store version is available for iOS devices.

The AirPort Utility, by comparison, makes it a dream to set up and run an Apple router. What's drawn them, by and large, to Apple equipment is because they know it's easy to use and comfortable for them. They're just regular consumers who know they need Wi-Fi in their home. Most people buying these devices aren't IT people. Hell, I worked in IT, and I find setting these things up intimidating. Setting up a Wi-Fi router can be tremendously intimidating to the layperson. They present you with page after page of configuration information, myriad checkboxes and radio buttons that are either not well-described or not described at all, clad in techno jargon. They require you to use web-based interfaces. That's because, put frankly, most Wi-Fi router manufacturers absolutely suck at making their devices easy to set up and use. And that goes a long way to effectively targeting Apple's customer. Apple makes its network devices as easy to use as the Mac and the iPhone. There's a lot more to recommend Apple's devices than simply 'brand loyalty,' as Raja dismisses.