Apple did
something quintessentially them today in introducing the $129
Airport Express gizmo. The souped-up little white brick, which ships in
July, is equal parts cool, risky, and head-shaking, "How'd they think of
that? innovative." It's also very clever, promising three
equally useful gadgets in one tiny box that's expensive enough to
provide a nice profit margin, yet inexpensive enough to upsell most
consumers into an extra feature they hadn't bargained for.
Plus, it's another step towards Apple's current goal of controlling
the Web-based music marketplace.
I've always thought Apple's Airport Base Stations were overpriced for
home users and never destined to gain a foothold in the corporate (i.e.
Windoze) world. At $129, the 10 user, 802.11g Airport Express Wi-Fi
access point is still a little pricer than its competitors, but
outrageously so. Factor in the portability of the unit and you've got
an attractive little router for PowerBook/iBook users who occassionally
hit the road and want the wireless comforts of home in their hotel
rooms. Also, it can function as a wireless bridge/repeater, which is
kind of handy.
Wi-Fi printers are just starting to hit the marketplace. HP's got
one that sells in Apple Retail Stores for $149. But if you're like me
and your aged but beautiful photo printer is still turning out great
quality prints (and decently fast text), you don't really want to spend
$150 to get rid of a few USB cables if it means losing a little print
quality. $129 is a little pricey for a USB print server, but it's
cheaper than $149. And -- oh yeah -- it also functions as a 54g router.
So I can sell the Netgear for $10 (or donate it for a $70 tax
write-off) and both upgrade my network and lose the printer cables in
the process. Plus, I'll have a router I can throw in my laptop bag if,
you know, I ever really need to feel like MacGyver.
I've seen and played with a handful of Mac-compatible streaming audio
receivers -- stay tuned for an upcoming review of Slim Devices'
Squeezebox and MacSense's HomePod -- and while I really like the idea,
I'm still waiting for the technology to mature a little before dropping
$200 for one of them. Even though the specs all say 802.11b, I'm
thinking if I'm going to base my music around my home wireless network,
I want it running at 54mpbs just in case. I love music. I hate
troubleshooting. I've found that running two laptops and a music server
slows down my .11b network -- whether that's the equipment's fault or
the fault of my configuration, I don't know. But it makes me a little
gun shy about buying one. But for $129, a 54g router and
streaming audio system might be worth the gamble ... at the least I'll
have that upgraded home network, right?
Apple seems to have themselves a pretty neat little swiss army knife
of a gadget here -- three or so gadgets rolled into one, really. My one
misgiving about the system has to do with the fact that the audio
functionality is controlled by (a forthcoming upgrade of) iTunes. This
means that while you can set up your Airport Express and connected
speakers anywhere you want, you'll have to be at your computer (Mac or
PC, since iTunes now runs on both) to navigate your playlist. I'm
thinking maybe some third-party company will build an infrared USB
adapter so the navigation can be handled with a Palm or cellphone remote
... But, no, you'd need to get back to the iTunes host computer
somehow.
The answer, of course, can be found in the big picture. Airport
Express isn't Apple's end-all, be-all solution to home media. It's just
a step ... and a baby one, at that, I'd venture to guess. This is a
computer company that just split itself off an iPod division, remember.
That means music now, maybe video soon, certainly consumer electronics
no matter how you look at it. A little poking around the Web coverage
the Airport Express introduction found me this interesting
bit of Q & A from The Wall Street Journal's "D: All Things Digital" conference
over on Apple Insider:
When Jobs was demonstrating the new Airport Express,
Walt Mossberg said that the biggest problem he saw was that users had to
get up and walk to your computer to change play lists. Jobs joked that
walking was good, but when pressed, he smiled a wry smile. AppleInsider
correspondents took this to mean that Apple is developing in this area,
and the Airport Express is just a step along the way.
Yep, just a step. Maybe a remote is in the works. But more likely, maybe
Apple's working on a full-on
home media hub, Apple-style. A stand-alone box that runs a stripped-down
variant on iTunes, is remote controllable via an LCD screen or your TV, and can stream media
between your computer and any Airport Express boxes you might lying around the house. Maybe that means we'll
have to wait for iTunes video integration, maybe not ... But one thing's for sure. Digital
media is a new market, and Apple's got the upperhand right now. Don't think for a moment
that they're going to rest on the iPod's laurels. Think modularity, upgrade paths, Apple
gizmos in every room of the house where you might want to listen to music, watch video, surf the
Web or even use a computer.
And oh yeah ... iTunes Music Store Europe launches on June 15. WWDC kicks off 13 days after
that. And those 60GB iPod rumors already have Mr. Jobs irked. Looks like a fun summer...
* * * *
Noah Kravitz runs the
Technology and Culture blog
Threebase.com. He is an educator, musician, and writer who calls
Brooklyn, NY home and the author of the forthcoming book, Teaching and
Learning with Technology.
