Looking not too dissimilar to the differently successful Apple TV, or if you squint a Mac Mini, Apple has finally taken the wraps off it shiny new device that at last promises wireless backup to all those people that have gone out and bought OS X Leopard. 

The wireless storage device, called Time Capsule, is basically an AirPort Extreme wireless router with a huge hard disk drive crammed into its svelte body. The device works with Leopard's new back-up application called Time Machine. Apple users can now back up and restore files and stuff over a wireless network, instead of having to mess up your perfectly ordered desktop with cables running from your computer to your external hard disc.

Time Capsule has dual-band antennas covering both 2.4GHz or 5GHz frequencies. Physical connectivity-wise, it has a USB 2.0 and three Gigabit LAN ports. The device sports a built-in power supply (no messy power blocks to spoil the view). It can also do wrieless printing from a USB printer. Security is a big feature of this as the device has WPA/WPA-2, 128-bit WEP encryption and a built-in NAT firewall that supports NAT-PMP for OS X's Back to My Mac feature.

According to Apple, the units are shipping already, although looking on the Apple website there are reports of five- to seven-day waits. The appliance is available in two sizes: a 500GB unit which costs $299, and a huge 1TB model that goes for $499.

When Time Capsule was introduced by his holiness the Jobs on January 15 at Macworld, he said the device would ship in February. So the company just about got this one out on time-ish.