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Apple’s AirPort Express—there are many reasons to get on board

So Apple is on a roll with product releases in the last few days. And Wall Street is happy, with Apple trading at over $30. Today’s speed bumped PowerMacs (all dual, 1.8, 2 and 2.5GHz systems), while not quite the 3.0GHz Steve promised at last year’s WWDC, seems to be keeping investors happy.

Apple is poised to continue with the positive press over the next few weeks with a special music event scheduled for June 15 in Europe, where they are expected to take the wraps off the iTunes Music Store for Europe. And their own World Wide Developers Conference kicks off the following week—and only Steve knows all that will be revealed there.

Then there is the little gadget that kicked everything off this week—Monday’s announcement of the AirPort Express. While it isn’t for everyone, reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, and deservedly so. Apple has taken several major features, served them up in a small, elegant package, and delivered them at an equally small price (for everything you get). In fact the size is one of the major selling points, as I see many sales going to travelling professionals who want a portable base station so that they do not need to remain tethered to the wall in their hotel rooms.

The USB port and USB Printer sharing feature will also be a selling point for a good number of people. Its WIFI Bridging capability will resonate with yet another part of the demographic. But the major push, and innovation, is the audio jack that works with any powered speakers or stereo, including surround sound systems. Combined with AirTunes, there is now an extremely easy way to connect your entire iTunes library to your stereo system, without having to run cables, and you can keep your computer out of sight in the office.

Although these features seem to be aimed at several targets, my suspicion is that most people will want one (or more) of these for a combination of reasons. I hope Apple is able to ramp up production on these as they appear to have another hit on their hands.

The only questions that remain are what other, similar products does Apple have in the pipeline, and how will the next generation of iPods integrate with this? Maybe we’ll know in a couple of weeks.