Apple Introduces AirPort Wireless Networking
Teams with Lucent to Bring Cable-Free Internet Access to iBook
MACWORLD EXPO, NEW YORK - July 21, 1999 - Apple® today introduced AirPort*, a wireless local area network (LAN) solution that provides totally untethered Internet access for its stunning new iBook* consumer portable. Apple's AirPort solution includes the AirPort Card, which fits inside Apple's new iBook, and the AirPort* Base Station, which contains a 56K modem and a 10BASE-T Ethernet port for connecting to a phone line, cable modem, DSL modem or local area network for terrestrial Internet access. AirPort is based on the industry standard IEEE 802.11b, and operates at 11 megabits per second for fast Internet access from anywhere in the home or classroom.
"It's a liberating experience to surf the Internet from your iBook while freely moving about your home or classroom - without any power or networking cables to tie you down," said Steve Jobs, Apple's interim CEO. "With AirPort we can now bring fast Internet access to every room in the house and every desk in the classroom."
iBook, the first computer designed for wireless networking from the start, includes two built-in antennas and a slot for the optional AirPort Card (see related release). The AirPort Card, working in conjunction with the AirPort Base Station, enables data to be transmitted between iBooks and the AirPort Base Station at speeds of up to 11 megabits per second. Up to ten iBooks can share a single AirPort Base Station simultaneously from up to 150 feet away.
Apple teamed with Lucent Technologies, a leader in wireless networking, to design and deliver AirPort. The 18 month-long collaboration has resulted in the most cost-effective and easiest-to-use wireless networking solution ever.
"Apple's decision to pioneer mainstream wireless networking is as significant as its pioneering of the graphical user interface," said Rich McGinn, chairman and chief executive officer of Lucent Technologies. "We are delighted to be working closely with Apple to bring this incredible technology to the market."
Apple's iBook consumer portable, available in September for CDN $2,399, features a brilliant 12.1-inch (diagonal) active-matrix TFT SVGA display; a fast PowerPC G3 processor running at 300MHz with a high-speed 512K backside L2 cache; and up to six hours running time on a single charge of its Lithium-Ion battery. The AirPort Card is a CDN $149 option and easily installed by consumers. The AirPort Base Station is CDN $449. Additionally, Apple will offer a wireless card for its current line of PowerBook® G3 professional notebooks.
Apple Computer, Inc. ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II, and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is now recommitted to its original mission - to bring the best personal computing products and support to students, educators, designers, scientists, engineers, businesspersons and consumers in over 140 countries around the world.
Apple Canada Inc. is headquartered in Markham, Ontario and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Apple Computer,Inc. Apple products are available at more than 450 Authorized Apple Canada Dealer locations across Canada.
Visit Apple Canada's home page on the World Wide Web: http://www.apple.com/ca/.
Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N. J., designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronics components. Bell Laboratories is the research and development arm for the company. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit the company's web site at http://www.lucent.com.
Media Contacts:Dennis Manning
Apple Canada Inc.
(905) 513-5878
Heather Brittain
GENERATORIDEAWORKS PR
(416) 413-8915
Sam Gronner
Lucent Technologies
(908) 507-2115
Original Press release (archive.org)