Stefan Mileschin

As if this morning's monumental WWDC keynote was not enough, Apple seems to have a few more silent product updates in the pipeline. A quick look at the now updated Apple website, reveals a redesigned Airport Express.

The new design takes after the 2nd generation Apple TV, except for the color, which is in line with the traditional Airport enclosures. The dimensions of the tiny box are exactly the same as the current Apple TV.

The most notable additions to the new Airport Express is support for simultaneous dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi, just like the Airport Extreme. Other usual features include the ability to perform the initial setup via iOS devices and support for AirPlay and Wireless Printing.

On the front, we have a tinier than usual status light, which should blink in the traditional amber and green colors. The ports at the back are a standard affair; power, one WAN port, one LAN port (still not Gigabit), a USB port, a 3.5-mm audio mini-jack for analog or optical digital sound and the reset button.

One of the major gripes I had with the older Airport Express was that it needed to be plugged directly into a power outlet, which made access to the ports rather awkward. Also, the design was prone to falling off the power outlet, unless plugged into a power strip, flat on the floor. I'm glad the new design finally resolves these issues by using a good old power cable.

The new model retains its $99 price tag and is shipping today.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5993/a...ess-new-design