Apple Wireless Router

Right now i have a very sucky Dell Inspiron 5100 with 256MB of ram which is very frustrating. I also have a Dell Wireless router and it is about to die it seems because it can barly send a signal to my room 15 yards away, maybe less. i am getting a macbook for christmas and i want a new wireless router.

Are the AirPort Bases any good? And if i have the express one hooked up under the desk will it affect the signal quality?

thanks :mac:
-davis

100+ views and no posts? that is really wierd

I would reccomend the Airport Extreem BaseStation to anyone who asks. It is easy to use and setup and integrated nicely with the MacOS. It is, however, more expensive than comprable LinkSys or other 3rd party routers that will do the same thing, without the nice integration, for less money.

baggss said:

I would reccomend the Airport Extreem BaseStation to anyone who asks. It is easy to use and setup and integrated nicely with the MacOS. It is, however, more expensive than comprable LinkSys or other 3rd party routers that will do the same thing, without the nice integration, for less money.

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what are the advantages to having such intergration

It's easier to setup. I'm not saying the others are hard, they use your browser as the interface. There is an Airport setup app in OSX that is easier to use from what I have seen though.

oh thats cool

I just bought my dad a wireless router. I was going to buy the Apple one, but I ended up buying a NetGear one since it was almost half the freakin' price. I asked the guy at CompUSA what the difference was and he was like "well, it matches the iBook". LOL

It is more expensive and not worth the extra money. This is coming from someone who has everything Apple. Double the price for less features? After all, it is sitting under the desk. No one will see it anyway.

Apple should drop the price on it.

trapzilla2002 said:

It is more expensive and not worth the extra money. This is coming from someone who has everything Apple. Double the price for less features? After all, it is sitting under the desk. No one will see it anyway.

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I'm curious as to what "features" you think it lacks. Care to elaborate?

Basing a decision on the advice of a CompUSA employee is not a very good method, trust me.

The Airport Extreme is what I currently use, and it works like a champ. As opposed to the LinkSys system; there is only an ethernet cable and power cord. The LinkSys just seems to be more of a bulky machine, and the plausibility of having a "no fuss" setup was worth the extra money.

Well the Airport Extreme has a built in modem just incase you need to use dial up and a USB port to make your printer wireless. Adding thoes 2 to any router by Linksys or Netgear or whoever brings the price closer to the same. The only downside I see is the Airport only has one wired port while 3rd party routers usually have around 4.

I have the Netgear DG834G and it works flawlessly, I have my iMac and Toshiba Laptop running wirelessly and 3 PC's + Xbox wired, it also doubles as an ADSL modem. I have it functioning as a router, ADSL modem, firewall and wireless access point. I honestly couldn’t recommend a more reliable router, and it looks "Apple like" which is cool.

Just get a normal router. Buying an Apple one would be not be a financially advisable decision.

Any wireless router uses a standard technology for transmitting information, called 801.11 . There are versions of this technology that run better and faster, or with less package loss etc. They are named 801.11a through 801.11h as what I know right now.

Apart from that, routers may sport features like extra ethernet ports, setup utilities you can access through the browser, and other "bells and whistles" which you don't really need. You can check PC Magazines with reports about range issues, but most modern routers reach around the normal house that doesn't have steel-cemented walls. Apple's Airport looks good - but since the technology on all routers are basically the same, your Airport card in the Mac will communicate with any router.

I have a Siemens Gigaset. I never had to setup anything. Connect, switch on, turn on Mac, surf.

For most uses, the Aiport Express is fine... Most people don't need the additional features the airport extreme offers (option of connecting external antenna, analog modem, ethernet jack) and if you do I'd personally go with a different brand as well.