Apple Airport Cards: Can They Access Wi-Fi?

Apple Airport cards are Apple-branded Wi-Fi cards that allow users to connect to wireless networks. The original Airport cards were introduced in 1999 as an option for the iBook G3, which became the world's first Wi-Fi-enabled laptop. Over time, Apple released updated versions of the Airport cards, including the Airport Extreme and Airport Express, which offered improved speeds and features. However, in 2009, Apple transitioned to Intel processors, and built-in Wi-Fi became standard across all Mac products, leading to the discontinuation of wireless cards.

Original Airport cards were Apple-branded WiFi cards

The original Airport cards were Apple-branded WiFi cards. They were introduced in 1999 as an option for the iBook G3, which became the world's first WiFi-enabled laptop. The original Airport card, known simply as the AirPort card, was a rebranded Lucent WaveLAN/Orinoco Gold PC card, housed in a modified enclosure that lacked the integrated antenna. It was designed to be user-installable, but it could not be used in a regular PCMCIA slot.

The Airport card was initially offered as an optional expansion card for Apple's new line of iBook notebooks and the AirPort Base Station. The AirPort card was later added as an option for almost all of Apple's product line, including PowerBooks, eMacs, iMacs, and Power Macs. The original Airport system allowed transfer rates of up to 11 Mbit/s and was commonly used to share Internet access and files between multiple computers.

The original Airport card was discontinued in June 2004, as Apple transitioned to Intel processors and built-in WiFi became standard across its Mac products. However, the Airport card played a significant role in bringing WiFi technology to the masses and laid the foundation for Apple's subsequent wireless networking products.

The Airport Extreme Base Station was introduced in 2003

The Airport Extreme Base Station was designed to support up to 50 simultaneous connections from Macs or PCs and was the only generation to use the "flying saucer" form factor. It featured an internal 56K dial-up modem, which allowed users without broadband access to connect to the internet wirelessly, albeit at slower dial-up speeds.

In terms of technical specifications, the Airport Extreme Base Station A1034 supported an 802.11b/g wireless LAN, with a frequency band of 2.412-2.462 GHz and a radio output power of 15 dBm. It utilised the Broadcom BCM4306/BCM2050 chipset and an AMD AU1500-333MBC Alchemy processor based on MIPS architecture. It included an RJ-45 Ethernet 10/100Base-T WAN port, an RJ-45 Ethernet 10/100Base-T LAN port, a USB port for printer connectivity, and a coax socket for an optional external antenna.

The Airport Extreme Base Station was replaced in 2007 by the square-shaped '1st Generation' Model A1143 Airport Extreme, which introduced support for the 802.11 Draft-N standard.

The Airport Extreme card was user-installable

The Airport Extreme card was designed to be user-installable. It was based on a Broadcom 802.11g chipset and was housed in a custom form factor, but it was electrically compatible with the Mini PCI standard.

The Airport Extreme card was introduced in 2003, corresponding with the release of the Airport Extreme Base Station. It was available as an option on current models and could be purchased separately. The card was designed to be user-installable, with variants marked for different specifications: A-1010 (early North American spec), A-1026 (current North American spec), A-1027 (Europe/Asia spec), and A-1095 (unknown).

The installation process for the Airport Extreme card varied depending on the Mac model. For example, on some machines, the keyboard needed to be removed, while on others, the battery was taken out to reveal the slot for the card. The process could be challenging, with some users reporting difficulty in connecting the tiny antenna wires to the card.

While the Airport Extreme card was user-installable, Apple phased out this design by mid-2005, moving towards an integrated design. This shift aligned with the standardisation of 802.11g on all notebook models. Despite the changes, Airport continued to be offered as an option, either at the time of purchase or as a later upgrade, for select Mac models such as the Power Mac G5 and the Mac Pro.

It is worth noting that the original Airport card, introduced in 1999, was also designed to be user-installable. This card was a rebranded Lucent WaveLAN/Orinoco Gold PC card, modified to fit Apple's proprietary slot and lacking an integrated antenna.

The Airport Extreme card was discontinued in 2009

Apple's AirPort Extreme card was discontinued in 2009, following the Mac transition to Intel processors. By this time, all of Apple's Mac products had adopted built-in Wi-Fi.

The AirPort Extreme card was introduced in 2003, based on the 802.11g specification and using Broadcom's BCM4306/BCM2050 two-chip solution. The card was available as an option for several of Apple's desktop and portable computers, including the MacBook Pro, MacBook, Mac Mini, and iMac.

The AirPort Extreme card allowed for theoretical peak data transfer rates of up to 54 Mbit/s and was fully backward-compatible with existing 802.11b wireless network cards and base stations. The card was designed to be user-installable and featured a custom form factor, but was electrically compatible with the Mini PCI standard.

While the AirPort Extreme card was discontinued in 2009, Apple continued to develop and release new versions of its AirPort wireless routers until 2018, when the entire AirPort line was discontinued.

The Airport card is an Apple-brand Wi-Fi network interface card

The original AirPort card was a repackaged Lucent ORiNOCO Gold Card PC Card adapter, designed to be user-installable. It was modified so that it could not be used in a regular PCMCIA slot, making it significantly cheaper than the official WaveLAN/Orinoco Gold card. An AirPort card adapter is required to use this card in the slot-loading iMacs.

In 2003, Apple introduced AirPort Extreme, based on the 802.11g specification, using Broadcom's BCM4306/BCM2050 two-chip solution. AirPort Extreme allows theoretical peak data transfer rates of up to 54 Mbit/s and is fully backward-compatible with existing 802.11b wireless network cards and base stations. Several of Apple's desktop and portable computers, including the MacBook Pro, MacBook, Mac Mini, and iMac, shipped with an AirPort Extreme (802.11g) card as standard. All other Macs of the time had an expansion slot for the card.

In 2004, Apple released the AirPort Express base station as a multifunction product. It can be used as a portable travel router, an audio streaming device, and a USB printer-sharing device.

In 2007, Apple unveiled a new AirPort Extreme (802.11 Draft-N) Base Station, which introduced 802.11 Draft-N to the Apple AirPort product line. This implementation can operate in both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz ISM bands and has modes that make it compatible with 802.11b/g and 802.11a.

In 2009, Apple unveiled AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule products with simultaneous dual-band 802.11 Draft-N radios, allowing full 802.11 Draft-N 2x2 communication in both 802.11 Draft-N bands at the same time.

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