Apple Rolls Out AirPort Express, AirTunes

das writes "Apple has introduced AirPort Express (specs), a palm-sized, portable 802.11g base station with 10/100 ethernet, USB printer sharing, and analog and optical audio output, for connection to a stereo system or powered speakers for streaming your music collection via 'AirTunes.' It supports multiple profiles for easy use at multiple locations It can plug directly into the wall as a "power brick", or use a longer power cord, similar to the newer PowerBook AC adapters. AirTunes requires iTunes 4.6, expected to be available soon."

Comments

iPod with WiFi next?

[Anonymous Coward]

This looks like a great product, and kudos to Apple for letting it work with PCs.

Next step: having an iPod with WiFi that streams music/video to this baby! That would be super cool, and such a fun party trick. No more cables.

This is perfect for it's target market

[MacFury]

Your criticisms are almost unjustified because the two products serve different market segments.

My friends often listen to music on their iBooks while sitting on the couch, they currently have a long speaker cable from the audio out to their stereo system. They will buy this in a second.

I'll be grabbing one as a wireless printer server and WiFi extender.

Did anyone else not see this product coming? It completely caught me by surprise/

Watch, this is a Trojan Horse...

[sockit2me9000]

Seriously, Apple folds innovations on top of other innovations they make. This is the next ipod, people, they are already approaching the home stereo which is now integral to the home theater as well. 802.11g has more than enough bandwidth to stream movies, right? Now, Apple has completely outflanked MS's "media center" methodology by saying "why for the love of god to you need a completely separate computer to run your home entertainment system?" what is a receiver except for a specialized computer, a computer that can be linked with other computers through a router. My prediction: a wireless OLED remote with a bare-bones OS X-style interface controlling (wirelessly) all the media in computers around the house. All this for around 300 bucks. Apple won't produce a PDA because that has no defined role, it's too nebulous and from that comes confusion. BUT Apple has all the experience needed for a kick-ass remote that just HAPPENS to do email, surf the net, etc.Or, what if the ipod BECOMES the remote? Mark my words, this is coming within a year and it will be huge and considerably less-expensive than the microsoft solution. Plus, it will all integrate with the ipod, I'm betting. You know how OS X hooks up with bluetooth phones? Same idea. This is huge and it is huge because it will be cheap, seamless, and not smacking of convergence.

Re:Watch, this is a Trojan Horse...

[sockit2me9000]

And the thing about this is that it's just so classically Apple. They create new markets. Why the hell hasn't anyone else stumbled on the idea of combining media sharing and a wireless access point? That's so obvious. But Apple's the first, and can guarantee a measure of inter-operability that Microsoft just can't because they don't control the whole widget. BUT now Apple can even make inroads on PC's too, because they have vertical integration. So, hypothetically, Apple may be able to bring media center functionality to PC's as well, without making the consumer buy another Wintel computer for media.
This is the problem with Apple innovation, it seems so obvious and logical in retrospect that you tend to discount it because it is so elegant and obvious.
But it's also interesting to note that Apple continues to innovate in ways that Microsoft can't because they're tied to a software only model and let others make the hardware (except for the X-Box). And it's also interesting because Apple seems to approach everything from a "modular" angle, letting bits and pieces build on each other as technology matures as opposed to the MS way of saying "this is how we are going to innovate, so all you better start." In short, Apple cuts out the nebulous third "????" step, patiently waiting until all the technology is there, all their ducks in order and then they release it and it isn't some half-assed near solution but a complete paradigm.
Look at the PowerBook. They held off on G4's until they could do them right.

Note to Apple

[milletre]

Apple: You are SOOOO close on this.

However, I don't *want* to stream iTunes (AirTunes ... whatever). I want to stream whatever would be coming out of my audio port. I want to sit on my couch, put in a DVD, and watch and hear a movie without wires everywhere.

Can *any* device do this without a TV? I found this DVD player, but it's not what I'm looking for, either.

Re:Wow what a POS

[aftk2]

Look at it this way, you have an xbox/ps2 that you want to get online and have also been looking for an easy way to listen to your iTunes music on your stereo. For $129 you get a bridge that will allow you to get your console online and an audio out to pipe into your stereo.

This is actually exactly the first thing I thought of when I started reading about it. If it can work with existing wireless hardware, I think it'll do very, very well (for example, I have a wired Mac, and a Netgear wireless router. If you go from the Wired Mac -> Wireless Router -> Airport Express -> Stereo, as well as Cable Modem -> Wireless Router -> Airport Express -> Xbox, it's one heck of a device. And I don't see why you couldn't.)