Customer Reviews

Apple M8209LL/A AirPort Base Station

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Apple Airport Base Station is simply the easiest to deploy and trouble free 802.11b wireless access point networking solution available today.

As with all Apple products I have recently purchased, in less than 10 minutes out of the box, this product was fully setup and operational and supporting multiple iBooks and iMacs with full signal strength wireless networking made even more impressive with a broadband internet connection.

But what is really cool is that even if you do not have a fast internet connection, you can still share a dial up internet connection over the Airport network. How many other routers on the market today have this RJ-11 feature?

I uplinked the Airport to a Linksys 4-port router and turned off the NAT and DHCP capabilities of the Airport - just to let the Linksys continue serving NAT & DHCP - using the Airport as a bridge (and a wireless access point), instead of a router. Yet, the Airport can serve as your primary router if you have no additional hardware - I did not want to turn my Linksys into an expensive switch!

A hub or switch can be connected to the uplink ethernet jack if more wired LAN capability is needed. This product is a breeze to setup in either OS 9.x or OS 10.1 (and will be even easier in OS X 10.2). Make sure you use the latest Airport software for your OS (currently version 2.0.4 for OS X 10.1.5 and OS 9.2.2).

The Airport Setup Assistant and the Airport Admin Utility (in the Applications -> Utilities directory in OS X) are you friends - just plug the Airport into your LAN or modem, run the Assistant, and the next thing you know, you will be enjoying the freedom that only Wi-Fi can provide. No more wires!

If you are an Apple user who is looking for a Wi-Fi solution, look no further. You want the Airport Base Station - a purchace you will not regret!

The airport base station is the coolest and most under appreciated device I own. It connects two iBooks and a desktop to the internet, and is amazingly simple to use. I've used non-apple routers in the past, and this was almost too easy to set up. I have the v.1 model, and the newer editions have more features, like an extra port. If you want easy wireless, use this. If you want to save money and deal with more headaches, get something else.

While the Airport mightn't have all the bells and whistles of some of the competition, it is the absolutely the best solution for Mac users. I use it at home to support a mixture of Macs and PCs, and found it a breeze to set up and use.

It's also really easy to upgrade, unlike some other wireless routers I've used. Apple keep adding new functionality that you can download for free...(e.g., 128-bit encryption, PPP dial-in, and PPTP support).

N.B. - If you use a Windows PC to access your office network over a VPN, then you will need to check the Apple website to get the latest version of the Airport software (version 2.0.4). Earlier software versions don't support Microsoft's PPTP tunnelling protocol, but the latest version works just fine (you also need to be running MacOS X 10.1.5).

Upgrading is a breeze, after you install the update on your Mac, you just have to hit the "update" button in the Airport confugration tool! No messing around with setting up tftp or serial connections.

If you have never networked anything, ever, and want to be able to walk around your house with your iBook, then buy the airbase and aircard. I plugged it in, put the card in my ibook, and I was surfing from the bathroom, basement, and even the neighbor's! A great buy. ...

One of the best features of the AirPort is its built - in modem and Network Address Translation (NAT) which allows multiple wireless computers to share a single dial in connection. If you're not up with cable or DSL yet, you can still get a wireless home or small business network going in no time, even if you're not a techie. When connected to cable or DSL, this little guy really shines, fully connects both Apples and PCs and is the coolest looking networking device you'll find. Apple just announced a new version with print server, but the current model AirPort has botth WAN and LAN connectors, so you if you're all wireless now, you can set up a 10BT print server as a peripheral and print off the WAN port. More expensive than some other solutions, but it does more too.

The Apple AirPort Base Station is extremely easy to use. The ABS software from Apple is designed with the same Apple Macintosh simplicity. This product includes security features that are easily understood, robust and fully standardized. The ABS is configurable via both Mac OSX and OS9 with support for computers running the Windows OS and third party PC cards. I can easily roam anywhere in the home and still maintain internet access.

What can be said about the amazing ability to surf the net from any room in the house?
While the setup was a tiny bit tricky for me- a quick visit to the Apple support pages led me to the solution, and I am so far totally loving it! I can't believe how low key they're being about the fact that you can use the internet to stream video/audio/etc. while you're in the kitchen, on the patio, in the yard... anywhere. It's incredible. As an added bonus, I get to share the internet connection between the two computers in my house without wires. Definitely a must buy if your computer is airport ready.
Unlike someone below, my connection to Road Runner worked flawlessly and feels even quicker than usual. While getting optimal performance might require a tweak or two, they are definitly worth it if you don't give up so easily.
Great product, as usual from Apple.

Though this base station is the easiest to set up, configure, and administer, it is by far the worst in range. At only 150 feet, it pales next to its competitors that are nearly half the price. Netgear and Macsense both make wireless routers that do more, also have built-in modems, have double, even triple the range, and provide more WAN ports (usually 4, some even have 8) for printers and other items on your network. Don't be fooled by its lovely design. This base station needs either a new antenna or a new price, like about a buck for every foot in its limited range.

Incredibly easy to set up, configure, and use. I have 3 Macs (including a PowerBook) using it as a router, both with Ethernet wiring as well as wireless. Works *flawlessly*.

Think carefully before you buy this BaseStation. At the MacWorld expo Keynote on January 9th, Steve Jobs announced a new version of the Airport Base Station which supports 802.11g--boosting the speed from 11Mbps to 54Mbps. The new version also acts as a print server, and the units automatically bridge between each other.