Is that a wireless basestation in your pocket...

June 08, 2004 at 11:20 PM in

... or are you just happy to see me?

Apple now gives you plausible deniability with their new AirPort Express wireless 802.11g base station/USB printer server/iTunes music server. At nine ounces, it's about the size of the AC adapter for my PowerBook!

Apple is complementing their existing AirPort Extreme (d00d, what a name!) wireless Ethernet base station/router. The new AirPort Express is designed to be portable, and cheaper (albeit supporting only 5 users, instead of 100). It has an Ethernet port, a USB port (so it can act as a print server), and most interesting, an analog audio port. Yes, it can also serve as a wireless music server for iTunes.

The idea is you can plug this into your home theatre and into a convenient power outlet. Then you can stream music to your stereo via your iTunes-equipped Mac or PC. Today, I keep a spare cable connected to my home theater, and then I plug my iPod into it when I want to listen to music. However, with AirPort Express, I can stream music directly from my stereo from my PowerBook.

AirPort Express also serves as a bridge to extend the coverage of your network if you already have an AirPort system installed. At $129, it's not exactly a stocking stuffer, but it's a good way to extend an existing network or set up an inexpensive ad hoc wi-fi network.