Apple AirPort Express Base Station user reviews (Summer 2012)

Pros Very small, looks great.

Cons Lacks standard features/functionality. No UPnP support. No Linux support. No web interface for management, proprietary software needed. Can't list connected devices via wired, only Wifi devices listed.

Summary Initial impressions out of the box was this is really tiny. Very small, small enough to fit in your palm and overall very minimal with only one indicator light on the face. Design wise, it's definitely an Apple product.

But trouble starts as soon as I hooked it up to the cable modem. There is very limited information on how to hook it up or manage it. First sign of trouble: there is NO web interface for it. While it is a standard practice across all other brands, Apple decided that you have to download a separate utility to manage this router which is only available for Mac and Windows OS. My Linus laptop be damned. Even still, setup was just a nightmare.

Since I have a smart TV, a PS3 and a printer via Ethernet, I decided to use a unmanaged ethernet hub to have those devices wired into the network. Unfortunately, while they all were all connected and had internet connection through the hub->Airport->Cable modem setup, none of the devices were discoverable in the network for file sharing. So that means my PS3 can pull files (music, photos, videos) from my desktop PC for viewing. It does NOT support UPnP! Which also means that I could not find the network printer without knowing the exact IP address.

How can you find the IP address of all connected devices on your network? You can't! The Airport Utility only lists devices connected through Wifi only. It does not list anything connected via wire so you have to go to each device and look up its IP address.

Overall, except for it's minimalist design which looks great, this is a very poorly designed product for the price. You pay more for less. Apple had an opportunity make the best router but this was a disappointment. Stay clear and buy something else.