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JUNE 9, 2004
By Alex Salkever Apple Hits a High Note with Express [Page 2 of 2] REMOTE CONTROL NEEDED. Alternatively, you can buy a wireless connection kit and plug a stereo directly into an Express to connect it to a desktop with a Wi-Fi card. People already know how to use iTunes, and the decision to extend it to the rest of the home and office makes perfect sense. Now, all Apple needs is an iRemote so users won't have to walk to the computer whenever they want to change play lists. Steve, are you listening? Beyond music, the Express fits snugly in the niche market of mobile users who want to tote their own Wi-Fi modem with a laptop to get wireless access in hotels, conference rooms, conventions, or job sites. The laptop market is growing considerably faster than the desktop market as more people opt to use the smaller device as their primary computer. The laptop segment's growth has held true for Apple as well, which has continued to do well with iBooks and PowerBooks, even as its desktop business has languished. At the same time, the vast majority of laptops now shipping have Wi-Fi connectivity. The Express could sell particularly well to the mobile market for at least a year or two until viable competition arrives. JUST CHEAP ENOUGH. None of this would have mattered had Apple not offered the Express at a steep discount to the two upmarket members of the Airport family. Those retail for $199 and $249, respectively, and are ridiculously expensive compared to competing wireless base stations. NetGear and Linksys offer bundles that include two Wi-Fi cards and a base station for well under $100. In contrast, Mac users must still fork over a minimum of $79 per Wi-Fi card -- and that's on top of the exorbitant cost of the Airport base station. By pricing the Express at $129, Apple has made it just cheap enough to remain a reasonable proposition. And since it's a relatively unique product for now, buyers can more easily justify its purchase. None of this is to say the Express is perfect. The Express won't support that many simultaneous users. Ten is plenty for a small business but not enough for a school lab or a larger company. Apple decided not to offer an antenna jack for plugging in a Wi-Fi range extender in this model. Furthermore, unlike the latest AirPort Extreme base station, the Express doesn't offer power-over-Ethernet, the ability to power the router using juice from a broadband modem delivered over a standard Ethernet cable. That would have been a natural for people who wanted to use it as a standard router untethered to a wall socket. PAINLESS PAYOFF. Make no mistake, competition is coming. At least one other company, Always On Wireless, plans to offer a similar highly compact device called the WiFlyer in July. Always On Wireless hasn't announced a price yet, but expect it to undercut the Express. The WiFlyer carries 802.11b Wi-Fi, an older system with speeds of 11 megabits per second. In contrast, the Express runs the zippier 802.11g system that delivers data at up to 54 megabits per second, and the USB print server makes it more practical for home users or even road warriors running on-site projects. And, unlike the AirPort Express, the WiFlyer requires a power cord and transformer brick. One trick Apple missed here that Always On Wireless nailed is that the WiFlyer has a phone jack to handle traditional dial-up connections, which is the only option in many hotel rooms. Still, in a head-to-head comparison the Express gets the initial nod for speed, size, and features. Spending a little extra money for a painless, networked home-music system looks more and more appealing to the millions of Americans now using their computer as a digital jukebox or their laptop as a primary PC. Give Apple its due for another well-timed, well-thought-out product.
 Salkever is Technology editor for BusinessWeek Online. Follow his Byte of the Apple column, only on BW Online
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