Hasta La Gadget!

Accompanying the refreshed Mac Pro, Mac Mini and iMac are interesting (if incremental) upgrades for the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule. Both products get dual-band wi-fi, along with an interesting “guest networking” feature.

For the end user, this means a few things. As expected, the dual-band feature broadcasts on both 2.4GHz (802.11b/g/n) and 5GHz (802.11a/n) frequencies, allowing client devices to connect to whichever standard suits them without forcing the whole access point one way or the other. In other words, different devices could be connected to both g and n network simultaneously.

Guest Networking is a clever feature that essentially sets up a walled, parallel hotspot that provides only internet access, keeping the rest of your network private from connected users—perfect if you share your wi-fi with neighbors, or just run a particularly promiscuous access point.

Otherwise, the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule are almost exactly the same—Time Capsule storage options remain at 500GB and 1TB, for which the prices stay at $300 and $500, respectively. The AirPort Extreme still hovers at a lofty $180, a blow only slightly mitigated by the new features. Both are shipping right now, to the rich. [Apple]