Review: Dual-band Airport Extreme
My Linksys WRT54G wireless router was getting a little long in the tooth, and I wanted to do wireless webcasting on Stickam, so I went for the speed and versatility of the Airport Extreme.
It helped my choice that I had become an Apple user with the purchase of a MacBook Pro a short while earlier, though I still had some g-band PC systems that I use for testing and some development, plus an iPhone 3G. The Airport Extreme is a dual-band device (simultaneous 802.11g and 802.11n usage), and therefore offered the speed I needed from the n-band and the compatibility that I needed from the g-band. It looked like the perfect solution.
Ordered from the on-line Apple store, the Airport Extreme arrived in perfect shape. Out of the box, it was about the size of a modern single hotplate. The first thing that I noticed was that it was very heavy when compared to the weight of my Linksys, which I took as a good sign. The Extreme came with a CD containing the disk utility for setting up the router itself, and for installing the necessary client files for both OS X and Windows network members, along with all necessary cables, cords, and power supply.
I had been buying and installing Linksys wireless routers for so long that I was ready for a 30-60 minute bout of tug-of-war with the Airport, then a longer battle getting my PCs connected to it. As instructed by the accompanying manual, I set up the hardware after shutting down the Linksys router, connecting the extreme to my cable modem, a USB drive for backups, and my photo printer.
Next, I slid the CD into the MacBook and let it install the required software and guide me through the setup of the router. I was up and running with the MacBook on the new router in less than five minutes. I repeated the process for the two PCs I wanted to run on the network (a Toshiba laptop and a home-built desktop), which took approximately another five minutes each. All worked perfectly and operated at just abut the limit of either the PC network gear or my cable Internet capacity, whichever was greatest.
The 802.11g-equipped PCs both got just over 4 Mbps download speeds and upload speeds of about .7 Mbps, which is slightly better than they had been doing with the Linksys wireless router with the internal antenna carefully placed to put coverage in the right places. Wandering around the house, and then the yard, with the Toshiba, I discovered that I also got those speeds at all locations inside and outside my home, clear to the far corners of the lot.
The MacBook Pro, with its 802.11n capability, did much better. This time, testing at every point on my property, inside and out, the MacBook got over 16 Mbps download speeds and right at the .76 upload limit. I should mention that the 16 Mbps download speed was better than I had been getting from wired Ethernet when I plugged in with the MacBook in situations where I needed speed.
For my next Stickam Webcast, I went live from upstairs at the dining room table. I did some of the show from my deck, some from the backyard, and some from the patio. Throughout, the Airport Extreme stayed ahead of the bandwidth required by Stickam, never faltering or dropping a frame. As an extra added bonus, my iPhone connected easily and immediately to the Airport network, something which had been very hit or miss with the old Linksys. I have yet to experience a failure to connect from the iPhone, or any other device.
The Apple Airport Extreme is both the best wireless modem that I have ever had and the easiest to set up and maintain. Every device that I wished to attach to the router connected with ease and has been rock solid ever since. The speed of the connections is right at the upper limit in both bands. He ability to connect USB drives and printers is an excellent addition. I can’t think of a single thing more that I would ask for in a dual-band router. Highly recommended.
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May 6th, 2009
I bought this product to solve a pretty large issue I was having with 802.11 G/N mixed mode. I have a TiVO HD, Roku, Apple iPhone, and Sony PS3. All of which use G. My Apple TV and iMac 24inch uses N. Having mixed mode on my old Airport Extreme always produced mxied results from the congestion of the 2.4ghz band. There are alot of G networks in my condo complex that was causing numerious problems.
Got the Dual Band Airport and now my iMac and Apple TV are humming along on 802.11N while all the rest are on there own 802.11g network.
September 9th, 2009
cable modem reviews provide customers the specifications, functions, weaknesses and strength of the product they bought. These reviews can be read on TV, print and on the Internet. They commonly review the disadvantages and advantages of using one over the other.The main concerns of reviewing cable modems are to show which modem provides are the most efficiency.