iPad3 with Apple Airport Express

[blurij]

I am sending a new iPad3 to a niece who has cable TV in the home. They do not have wireless WiFI in the home.
I am assuming they only have one ethernet cable going to the computer. I want her to be able to use her new iPad with WiFi in the house.
I understand that the new Apple Airport Express can make that possible.

My question is if there is only one cable ethernet line going into the house can that ethernet cable be split - one going to the computer and one going to the Apple Airport Express?
Will the Airport Express function if it is connected to a splitter ? Or do I need some other device from RadioShack to boost the signal?

Thank you very much.

 

[blurij]

I meant to say they have a cable internet connection in the house. Can that ethernet cable from the cable TV company be split between the computer and the Apple Airport Express?

 

[Gabriel1]

A cable wifi router is all that is required. The incoming cable goes into the router, another patch cable goes from the router to the computer and the router also provides wifi for the iPad.

The Archangel

 

[blurij]

Thanks Archangel - So you are saying I don't really need an Apple Airport Express. The iPad can pick up WiFi from the cable WiFi router. If I still decide to go with the Apple Airport Express for other reasons will it work with a split ethernet cable using a splitter of some kind?

 

[Gabriel1]

Thanks Archangel - So you are saying I don't really need an Apple Airport Express. The iPad can pick up WiFi from the cable WiFi router. If I still decide to go with the Apple Airport Express for other reasons will it work with a split ethernet cable using a splitter of some kind?

Airport Express only has one LAN port so you would need to use it with a network switch or use an Airport Extreme which has 4 ports.....or, of course, you could add a wireless dongle to the computer and have them all working off the wireless network.

The Archangel

 

[blurij]

Airport Express only has one LAN port so you would need to use it with a network switch or use an Airport Extreme which has 4 ports.....or, of course, you could add a wireless dongle to the computer and have them all working off the wireless network.

The Archangel

Thank you again, and if you don't mind I got one more question. I would imagine that a little dongle ( which I assume is USB connected to the PC computer my niece has ) must run real slow when browsing on the internet with the iPad. What do I get with the Airport Express base station with its 802.11n wifi access that one doesn't get with a dongle or some similar top of the line Netgear router which I saw for about $100 less? I have read that routers do not hold up very well for long periods. Am I paying extra for Apple quality and ease of use or just paying more for the name Apple?

 

[Gabriel1]

Thank you again, and if you don't mind I got one more question. I would imagine that a little dongle ( which I assume is USB connected to the PC computer my niece has ) must run real slow when browsing on the internet with the iPad. What do I get with the Airport Express base station with its 802.11n wifi access that one doesn't get with a dongle or some similar top of the line Netgear router which I saw for about $100 less? I have read that routers do not hold up very well for long periods. Am I paying extra for Apple quality and ease of use or just paying more for the name Apple?

Well I'm an Apple fan but I would say for what you want to do a wifi router (with say four LAN ports) would be ideal. If I were you I would search on Amazon and check out the reviews to decide which to get if you decide to go down this route (no pun intended!).

The Archangel