craveonline

By Nino Marchetti

If you live and breath the world of Apple products, as many people do, you happily carry around your iPhone and MacBook Air and, when at home, enjoy browsing the Web with your iMac and and watching downloaded iTunes videos through your Apple TV.

Hell, you probably even have an Apple tattoo on your butt cheek. What might you as Apple Fanboy be missing from your collection then? How about an Airport Express mobile base station, freshly outfitted by Apple with 802.11n wireless technology?

Apple has taken its popular Airport Express and given it a wireless speed upgrade with 802.11n, offering what the company says is up to "five times the performance and twice the range" of previous models. It consists of a single body design which plugs into a wall outlet and also connects to a DSL or cable modem to offer Internet use for up to 10 users at the same time. These same people can also share a printer wirelessly when it is connected to the Airport Express' USB port.

Perhaps the best feature though for iTunes fanatics is AirTunes, which is the ability to wirelessly enjoy music around your home. A digital and analog audio connector on the Airport Express lets you connect to it a home stereo or powered speakers. iTunes then detects these remote speakers and, after some configuration, lets you broadcast your audio to that particular Airport Express setup. Multiple setups can be done in such a matter, allowing you to hear the glory of Steve Jobs' voice inwhatever room you so choose.

Technical aspects, oh Apple geek, include WPA/WPA2 support, 128-bit WEP encryption and a built-in firewall. The Airport Express with the 802.11n is available now for around $100.