APPLE AIRPORT CARD WIRELESS ADAPTER ETHERNET p/n M7600LL/E

by Apple

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B0000899ZD
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 16, 2007

Product Description

From the manufacturer

Apple's AirPort wireless networking technology lets you surf the Internet from almost anywhere in your home or business, and enables schools to provide Internet access to multiple students without installing expensive cabling. With AirPort-enabled Macintosh systems, it's a snap to exchange files or play multiplayer games at data transfer rates of up to 11 megabits per second. And because AirPort uses radio waves for communication, it can even work through walls. Add an internal AirPort Card for each AirPort Card-ready system you want to bring onto your wireless network.

Product Description

Apple Airport Card - Wireless Ethernet - 11 Mbps IEEE 802.11b Type II PC Card Only Pulled p/n M7600LL/E, 630-2883 or 630-2883/C with 90 days warranty.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No muss, no fuss, good value., April 23, 2003

By 

Carl W "carl8262" (Lake Forest, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: APPLE AIRPORT CARD WIRELESS ADAPTER ETHERNET p/n M7600LL/E (Personal Computers)

I'm using an Airport card with my iBook, and have been extremely impressed with the way it "just works". Part of the credit goes to the Mac OS X operating system of course, but such totally transparent ease of use is rare in any piece of consumer electronics.

There is one caveat: Apple's very newest machines come with slots for "Airport Extreme" instead. Since Airport Extreme cards are smaller (as well as faster), they aren't interchangeable with "classic" Airport cards. Whichever kind of Airport card your computer supports is what you need to get.

Should you wait to get a machine with Airport Extreme? Probably not, if you're ready to buy. Since even the older Airport cards are faster than any connection to the Internet you're likely to find, the extra speed is only really useful when transferring files between machines at home, or at the office.

I'm not quite sure what the "electronics fan" from Los Angeles is blithering about. On any recent machine from Apple, the Airport (or Extreme) card installs without an adapter. The last "special edition" iMacs came out about two years ago. All of the flat-panel iMacs with G4 processors take Airport cards without needing an adapter, or so says Apple's spec site.

As for Apple being a non-contender in wireless, the previous reviewer couldn't be more wrong. Not only were they the first to make widespread use of WiFi (802.11b aka Airport), they were first to market with 802.11g (Airport Extreme). And as far as criticising them because a computer needs an adapter to use a technology that didn't even exist when it was designed, well, be glad you can buy that $20 adapter instead of having to buy a whole new computer.

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars life changing, February 9, 2004

By 

Robert Graves (Thompson Station, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: APPLE AIRPORT CARD WIRELESS ADAPTER ETHERNET p/n M7600LL/E (Personal Computers)

The wireless revolution has seriously altered the way I work. It didn't seem like it was that big of a deal, to be able to work anywhere in the house on a laptop. And then I was home over Thanksgiving and tried my father's - it was incredible. So, soon after I had my own and I love it - I even ended up getting another one for my wife's laptop.

Whether it's browsing amazon.com late at night in bed, checking morning email in the kitchen while the kids run around, or being able to set up a writing desk anywhere in the house without worrying about an accessible internet port - the airport system is awesome. Even if you only have a desktop computer it's worth it - you can to put the computer in a place where there's no internet plug, without the 40 foot cord draping your wall to connect it. All in all, a wireless system may seem extravagant, but once you have one you'll wonder how you got by without it.

The airport card, along with the base station, allows you to connect several computers, even ones that don't have wireless cards in them (i.e., we have two laptops on the wireless system, and then one iMac that doesn't have an airport card is plugged directly into the base station). You can print, scan - anything - wirelessly, as long as those extra components are connected to the base station.

If you have a big house and the base station won't be centrally located, you may want to look into the antenna. I have a 2500 square foot house and the base station is at one end of it. I can get access from anywhere in the house without the extra antenna, though in one or two places it's a weak signal. My father's house, on the other hand, is over 5000 square feet and the base station is at a far end - you can't even get a signal on the other side of the house. However, he purchased the antenna and the signal is now very strong wherever you are. A warning - you should make sure your airport network is password protected, especially if you get the antenna. The signal will be broadcast through half your neighborhood and if not protected, people can get on and use your airtime, clogging up your bandwidth.

Make sure you get the right card! There's the airport extreme card and the regular airport card (I believe they are both compatible with either base station). Check Apple's website for direct compatibility between your computer and the two different cards. They are different sizes and will only fit in the right kind of slot.

One final word - I've heard from others that certain products from Net Gear or other wireless manufacturers accomplish the same thing as the airport card and base station for much cheaper. I can't attest to the validity of this, but it might be worth looking into. I'd exercise extreme caution, since if you go with Apple products it will be covered with tech support, even if it's more expensive. And putting third party hardware in your computer will likely void the warranty on your computer.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not your only option..., September 17, 2005

By 

Robert S. Reti (San Francisco, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: APPLE AIRPORT CARD WIRELESS ADAPTER ETHERNET p/n M7600LL/E (Personal Computers)

This card is great for the seamless apple look and feel (and only option for internal in imac/ibook/PB) but it is way overpriced now that it is out of production. There are other options. Belkin F5D6050 USB B adapter has drivers for 9.2 and OSX, several manufacturers (e.g. certain Belkin, Linksys, Microsoft) PCI cards have airport extreme chipsets (broadcom) on them that OSX reads as a real airport Xtreme card. You need to do your research and some cards have different chipsets in different revisions, but it is pretty easy overall - and you can save $100!