Apple Time Capsule review

Apple Time Capsule Review

Reviewed by: Rich Brown

Reviewed on: 5 March 2008

Performance
As for its performance, we're happy enough with the Time Capsule's capability as a storage device. Results will vary depending on what kind of connection you use, but when you connect a system to the Time Capsule via a Gigabit Ethernet cable, you should feel comfortable knowing that its data transfer speeds lie within the range of what we expect from other network attached hard drives.

Although we're satisfied with its storage performance, as a wide-bandwidth 802.11n wireless router, the Time Capsule is decidedly mediocre. On the 2.4GHz performance, the Time Capsule fell behind by a full 20Mbps on our max throughput test compared with a NetGear RangeMax router.

It's also on the lower end of the spectrum when compared on our long range and mixed throughput tests. We don't show 5.0 GHz frequency scores for brevity, but our results on those tests scaled in a similar fashion. Anecdotally, backing up and moving data back and forth between the drive and various systems felt reasonably fast, but if you need your network to be especially speedy, our tests show that you have several faster options out there.

Conclusion
In its niche, then, the Time Capsule is the most advanced product on the market. Its price is also fair compared with a separate router and network-attached hard drive. Mac owners and the space or design-conscious should consider the Time Capsule if they're in need of a router upgrade. Windows PC owners should look elsewhere for more advanced storage capabilities, as should anyone that demands fast wireless performance.

Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday