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Comment by tomtang0514 | Hacker News Reader

I don't think people don't buy Airport because it doesn't have web interface. I guess the real reason is the price. If you looks at all routers at $200 price range, Airport probably has the worst looking spec.

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I do agree that the specs do not look enticing on paper, compared to say the Asus ones, but in my experience they last longer.

Whenever I visit my parents I usually bring replacement hardware for whatever is broken. When I first got them their Airport Extreme, I replaced it after 5 years. I got them an Asus router with a really impressive wifi range, but it broke after just 1 year. Now they're back with the latest Airport Extreme.

It's a bit pricey for the specs but it's very reliable. I use 2 at home, that are bridged via gigabit ethernet, and they're pretty good. My only complain is that they don't have VLAN support (IPTV) and their wifi range is really bad.

But have you used one? Spec and usability are not the same thing. I have one of the high end Asus routers and several Airport Extremes. I think you know where this is going.. I'm using the AirPort Extreme right now. Dead simple to set up bridges, everything works, no need to do any overclocking to get enough power to penetrate my 17th century stone walls. If the iPhone taught us anything it's that specs matter far less than user experience. Of course there are probably still guys hacking away on Windows XP that would disagree of course.

I've been having a similar experience. I wrote some software (http://docs.happyfuntimes.com) that connects lots of users to a local web server. I've personally used 5 different routers with it and others have used more. The AirPort Extreme is the only one that hasn't had any issues so far.

I'm hoping the OnHub will be good but I need a way to configure it without Internet

I don't have one. But I never said Airport is bad. The point I'm trying to make here is that the "profile" of Airport is not very attractive to non apple fans and experienced user. iphone can draw attention by user experience rather than cpu numbers because people care about their phone. But the importance of router is at a position that usually ignored by average user. Take a car as example, cellphone and laptop are like engines and suspensions which draw every car buyers attention. While router is like tire, and non car guys pursuit 4WD instead of good tire when they need traction.

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