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Apple to Launch Cheaper AirPort Extreme, 3TB Time Capsule

Tuesday June 21, 2011 1:50 am PDT by Arnold Kim

Apple is about to launch upgraded AirPort Extremes and Time Capsules, according to 9to5mac who cites Mr. X as a source. The new part numbers are listed below and offer a higher storage capacity Time Capsule at 3TB.

• MD031LL/A – AIRPORT EXTREME 802.11N (5TH GEN)- USA
• MD032LL/A – TIME CAPSULE 2TB (4TH GENERATION) – USA
• MD033LL/A – TIME CAPSULE 3TB (4TH GENERATION) – USA

The prices of all parts are said to drop in price, though the exact price hasn't been specified. Given the last minute part numbers, we expect the new devices could launch as early as Tuesday morning.

What's particularly interesting is that the 3TB part was predicted by MICGadget in their report late yesterday.
What’s more, the 1TB model may go extinct, and the new Time Capsule will be available in 2TB plus storage, and according to our trusted source, 3TB is tested, but not sure if Apple got it to work.
They also predicted a new design with better heat dissipation, better signal strength and software update caching.

Related roundup: AirPort , Tag: 9to5mac.com
[ 141 comments ]

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podiki
48 months ago
Pity, I use my Airport Extreme to heat my house in winter. No upgrade for me.
Rating: 21 Votes
Avatar
Ahheck01
48 months ago
Assuming the prices are much more reasonably than current offerings ($99 seems very Apple), I will almost definitely buy the new Airport Extreme, if not a Time Capsule.

Although I hope this isn't the only announcement for today. Final Cut Pro X can't come soon enough. Anyone else?

What do you think:
Airport Express: $69
Airport Extreme: $129
Time Capsule 2TB: $229
Time Capsule 3TB: $299
Rating: 6 Votes
Avatar
wordoflife
48 months ago
+1 for the cheaper Airport Extreme.
I'm not paying $170 for a router that only has 3 ports. I think I'd rather get something cheaper, with 4 ports, and spend an additional 10 minutes setting it up.
Rating: 3 Votes
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podiki
48 months ago
BTW, a NAS? With one drive? I never did get why the time capsule has just one drive.
Rating: 3 Votes
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ratzzo
48 months ago
Ooh, about time for a capacity upgrade! I might also get an AirPort Extreme if they do drop prices (4 storey house :(). I don't expect them to drop significantly though
Rating: 2 Votes
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MythicFrost
48 months ago
This may sound like a weird question but: What day is "today"?

The article said they may launch as early as tuesday, but what day is it now from macrumors time? I live in Australia and it's tuesday night here.
Rating: 2 Votes
Avatar
radiogoober
48 months ago

2) backing up non-PC devices. iPhones, iPads, iPod touches. Because, again, many are too lazy or stupid to regularly hook them up to a PC.


I was enjoying your post until I see you say some people are too "stupid" to regularly hook an iDevice to a PC. A lot of people just don't give a damn, and don't want to sit there and manage an iTunes sync to their iDevice, and aren't anal retentive about the contents of their phone. To a lot of people (probably the majority), it's just a dang phone.
Rating: 1 Votes
Avatar
diamond.g
48 months ago

I was enjoying your post until I see you say some people are too "stupid" to regularly hook an iDevice to a PC. A lot of people just don't give a damn, and don't want to sit there and manage an iTunes sync to their iDevice, and aren't anal retentive about the contents of their phone. To a lot of people (probably the majority), it's just a dang phone.


And it is good to see Apple is slowly figuring that out (with respect to the PC-free setup).
Rating: 1 Votes
Avatar
academytim
48 months ago
I posted this in another thread as well...however I have yet to see any of the news blogs pick up on this. While the price, overall appearance remains the same on the Airport Extreme, there seams to be a significant difference in the radio performance.


According to the FCC reports, there is a significant difference in the power output of the g/n radios at both 2.4 and 5ghz...

Previous Version...(follow the link, then click on the "Report" link)
http://goo.gl/B8PIu

New Version...
http://goo.gl/3yKRl


Previous Version...

freqency range mode output power dbm output power watts
2412-2462 802.11b 24.57 286.42
2412-2462 802.11g 21.56 143.22
2412-2462 802.11n(ht20) 21.17 130.92

5745-5825 802.11a 23.07 202.77
5745-5805 802.11n(ht20) 22.17 164.82
5755-5795 802.11n(ht40) 21.44 139.32


New Version...

2412-2462 802.11b 24.10 257.04
2412-2462 802.11g 24.88 307.61
2412-2462 802.11n(ht20) 24.11 257.63

5745-5825 802.11a 25.14 326.59
5745-5805 802.11n(ht20) 25.28 337.29
5755-5795 802.11n(ht40) 25.94 392.64



This should mean a fairly significant increase in range with the new model. I would imagine these figures would carry over to the Time Capsule as well.
Rating: 1 Votes
Avatar
academytim
48 months ago
The 2TB Time Capsule at $299 isn't too bad of a deal. That being said, I really think the 3TB version should be coming in at $399 instead of $499. A $200 premium for 1TB is fairly ridiculous.
Rating: 1 Votes

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