I’m considering to buy an Apple Time Capsule when it hits the streets next month because I need a backup appliance for my MacBook Pro. What I was wondering today was if getting one is a good deal or not. So I did a bit of investigation and some math. (Following I’ll be looking at prices in US-$, but my fellow citizens in Europe will likely get similar results.)
The 500 GB Time Capsule is going to ship for $299 and includes a 500 GB NAS, a 802.11n Access Point, a DSL router, a 3-port switch, and a print server to hook up USB printers to a network. This feature set can be replicated by the following devices:
- NAS: Iomega Home Network 500 GB NAS Hard Drive: $169.99
- Access Point / Router / Switch: Linksys WRT150N Wireless N Home Router: $89.99
- Print server: Linksys PSUS4 PrintServer: $59.99
This totals in $319.97 (already including insane Amazon discounts), which is 20 bucks more than the Apple device. It lacks Time Machine support which is very unfortunate. Also with this configuration you will have three devices taking up space, consuming energy and requiring maintenance instead of just one Time Capsule.
Of course I’m assuming that one actually needs a router, an access point and a print server in addition to the NAS. I certainly do, so Time Capsule will most likely be a good deal for me.