Strengths: 802.11n 5ghz sublime performance; perfect aesthetics; price comparable to other similarly spec'd routers FOR NOW (April 2008); can handle strenuous real world traffic with flying colors

Weaknesses: legacy 802.11a/b/g mediocore to a capital M

Summary: 802.11n, the latest marketing spec has taken an absurdly long time to gestate. The latest revision is a "draft" specification and manafacturers have gone ahead and adopted it. Apple, no stranger to popularizing new technologies to the masses, have gone ahead and polished the specification very well but to the detriment of backward compatability performance.I come from years of handling routers. Starting with the ubiquitious and satirized linksys router, to the wireless alphabet soups of mainstream taiwanese chipsets, to DD-WRT and Tomato open source firmwares. Along the way, I've come across the whole gamut of marketing jargon "AOSS", "Turbo-Boost", "channel bonding", "108mps" and the sort. When first using the Apple router, I was skeptical to say the least about the "300mb" performance from my wireless Mac. Yes, the 300mb is a misnomer but what I've found is that when operating at a pure 5ghz signal with only 802.11n devices accepted, it approximates close to a 100MB Ehternet connection. The performance is startling. I'm not one to benchmark because I hate synthetic benchmarks. I judge from user experience and this thing is fast.The drawback is when I switch the router to supporting legacy products. Everything becomes SLOW. You have an 802.11g device? It will drag it down. In apple's defense, I think that is true - no matter how mature the technology is.Everything else works in cacophony. The lights doesn't scream its blinding blueness like some technicians fantasy but has a nice neutral amber hue. That is refinement - little-- but it goes a long way for long term usage. You will discover little things. Of course, there is the USB slot which for now, lets you use a USB hard drive as a time capsule. I don't plan to use it and apple doesn't plan to support it long term but it is beneficial to those who use that feature.Apple's prices have always been near the top. Their earlier airport technology was LATE and just average. Unlike luxury brands such as clothing though, Apple's recent products in the wireless arena (802.11n) have merit behind their pricing. You get REFINED technology that really *just* works - take note the 5ghz channel (cheaper products promise 802.11n on 2.4ghz which intereferes if you have any modern appliances). AS you get older, the tinkering spirit I had in my youth no longer is so much fun because I value my time to live my life more. Apple gives me that peace of mind for that internet connection and it deserves a big recommendation for me.

Strengths: Allows sharing of devices such as USB printers and hard drives wirelessly

Weaknesses: Light indicators on front may be overly simplified for more advanced technical tastes

Summary: This is a nice device. It supports 802.11 b/g/n and gives 10/100/1000-base ethernet support. It is aesthetically pleasing as all 3 antennas are internal. Configuration is done through loading software on to a Mac. Once setup, the system can work with both Mac and PC alike. Apple's Bonjour service can be installed on a PC and this allows it to utilize any USB printers or hard drives hooked to this device. It is possible to hook a USB hub to it directly to allow use of more than one device since it only has a single port. The device can be configured, with other compatible equipment, to allow it to become a repeater/extender of existing wireless networks. Well done, Apple. If I were to state anything that might be less than optimal for some, it would be that there is only a single LED on the front of the device to show status. Some may be used to be able to get more visual feedback to troubleshoot. Apple likes to keep things simple. In this case, a little too simple for my taste. One needs to connect to the unit with the software to see what is going on.

Strengths: With USB printer connection or hard drive. Easy software installation. Great design.

Weaknesses: Not a weakness but it IS expensive!

Summary: I love the white Airport Extreme Base Station that looks like the Mac Mini. It is easy to connect up and when you install the software it checks for updates from Apple for Firmware. Airport helps you to go through the steps to create your network and enter your WPA2 password and you can connect to your internet via ethernet cable to your broadband modem. I was able to print rightaway. We have a Macbook Pro C2D in one room and the iMac C2D in another and everything including the USB printer connected up without any hitches.I cannot vouch for anyone who do MS Windows as we are an all-MAC family.

Strengths: Signal strength beats all other base stations; ;signal goes further than other base stations; Ease in set-up. Basically plug and play; lots of extra ethernet ports.

Weaknesses: Expensive compared to generics; a bit large.

Summary: This new apple base station really does one up on the earlier editions. It was easy to plug in and use within minutes. The distance the signal reaches and the strength of the signal sure beats my old Snow ABS. This worked flawlessly for all my network needs which includes an ancient ethernet HP Laserjet printer. I have a apple desktop and two apple laptops on the internet network non-stop and none of these computers lack internet speed or ability to stay within a strong range.

Strengths: It works really well, it's exactly what I needed.

Weaknesses: Didn't find any

Summary: I'm glad I got this base . It's much faster than any other. I'm very happy with it. I think that anyone that it's not playing around with their speed should invest in one of these.

Strengths: Works great when properly configured.

Weaknesses: Poor Instruction Set for setup.

Summary: Only one comment to those who cannot get the amber light to turn green. It will only turn green when security is enabled. Otherwise it remains amber to indicate a "weakness" in the configuration.

Strengths: Signal strength.

Weaknesses: Directions a little misleading about the light on the front.

Summary: I had a Westell Versalink (supposed to be the best according to bellsouth techs) that had trouble connecting to my MacBook. I bought the unit and followed directions to the tee. It didn't work as the directions stated. The light on the front is supposed to turn green when it's ready, but it still flashes yellow to this day. The Apple tech (after a short call) said that flashing doesn't mean it's not working - that's true, it works like a champ even tho the light isn't solid green. My printer is connected to the unit and it wirelessly prints - great product.

Strengths: Looks great. Typical Apple design. 802.11g/n signal is strong.

Weaknesses: Only 3 ethernet ports available, no light signals telling which ports are being used as with most other routers.

Summary: I purchased the Apple Extreme to replace a Netgear 614 just over a year old. The Netgear was constantly dropping connections in 802.11g. The Apple worked flawlessly in that aspect. All the wifi gadgets connected easily once I set up the Apple Extreme. Although I was expecting that it could do 802.11a/g/n at the same time, but instead I had to choose between 802.11b/g/n, 802.11a/n, or 802.11n only. I also would like more light signals from the Airport Extreme. Having just 1 light blinking green/amber/red can be frustrating at times. Unlike the Netgear or Linksys routers that I have used before, there are no way to tell which ethernet ports are occupied unless I physically walk and look behind the router.Lastly, after using it for over a week, I have yet to find how to export and archive my router settings. The function is grayed out in Airport Utility software.

Strengths: Beautiful peice of hardware, rock-solid performance in N-Only mode. Works flawlessly (after minor setup anxiety).

Weaknesses: Setup was a bit laborious, due to the fact that I had to change the default IP settings from 10.1.x.x to 192.168.x.x since I have a Linksys Pap2 for my Vonage service.

Summary: I highly recommend this device to anyone seeking to replace an old WAP or to someone looking to upgrade to the draft-N standard. The fact that you can change to either 2GHz or 5GHz mode is very useful if you utilize 2.4GHz or 5.8GHz cordless phone systems.

Strengths: This has got to be the fastest wireless router i've ever used. I'm brand new to using macs and it took me about 10 minutes ti set it up completely. It was so easy, just pop the cd in the drive and go.

Weaknesses: So far i've seen no weeknesses. I've got a MBP Core 2 duo and download from the internet through this wireless router at about 700+ kbps. Meanwhile at the same time my brother on the PC playing WOW.

Summary: I have to recomend this product to anyone. My first time using apple router and computer and everything went just perfect. Get this wireless router. Besides if you dont like it just go into the apple store and tell them your not satisfied, they'll refund you. You cant go wrong with this device.