Drobo Releases Pricing for Thunderbolt Storage Devices, Preorders Start Monday

I'll wait with curiosity to see what the speeds are like on the new Drobo's.

I have the Drobo 2nd Gen and while I did have some initial issues with the hardware it has been fine since (though I wish the fan was quieter than it is, particularly as it's back in my study ATM). It may not be the fastest machine for reading / writing but I wanted it because:

A) I can put whatever disks I wanted into it
B) it's easy to expand the storage by swapping a disk (though 5 disks would be nicer for extra redundancy)
C) there is no fiddling or futzing, it takes care of everything.

After 4-5 years of use I'm overall happy with it and when I end up with a mac that's USB 3 / TB compatible I'd certainly consider upgrading to a new Drobo.

Damn Jerry, what'd you do for a drobo mini, kill your wife?

Apple really has to step up here, that is if tehy really want this port to take off. Pricing is insane, not to mention that hard drives are still expensive.

rmwebs said:

If initial demand was great there wouldn't be a need for such an obscene price. I get it...Thunderbolt is new technology, but in this day and age, licensing aside it costs pennies to produce the components used in these products.

Thunderbolt will continue to be a failure until they get real on pricing. It's simply too expensive for even a pro user to consider over the alternatives.

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Look, I'm annoyed by the pricing of Thunderbolt peripherals as much as the next guy, but your post is so far off base it's ridiculous. For starters, you've reversed the supply demand curve. If demand for a product is great, it means it will be priced more to maximize profits, not less. When there isn't much demand for something, the price needs to come down to increase demand until it hits the sweet spot of Demand x Price to maximize profits.

Second, your assumption that it costs pennies to produce the components used basically ignores almost 85% of the real cost of making something - The money spent during R&D & design phase, initial startup required to produce something, making all the molds/tooling, and building in a profit on top of all of that. But I forgot, you want these companies to pay for all of that themselves and then sell you the product for $2.

Lastly, this isn't a product trying to sell Thunderbolt itself. As others have already stated it's a storage device for specific purposes with a particular market in mind. If you don't have a need for it, fantastic, don't buy the product.

vestigo74 said:

There are quite a few people in this thread who seemingly have no idea what is going on here. Drobos are expensive. They've always been expensive. There's no "early-adoption" tax here.

Ethernet 5-bay Drobo FS: $699
USB 3.0 5-bay Drobo S: $799
Thunderbolt 5-bay Drobo FD: $899

When you consider how much faster and more reliable Thunderbolt is than USB 3, I don't think paying an extra $100 is a kick in the nuts.

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The one with USB 3 is also too expensive.

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GuitarDTO said:

Look, I'm annoyed by the pricing of Thunderbolt peripherals as much as the next guy, but your post is so far off base it's ridiculous. For starters, you've reversed the supply demand curve. If demand for a product is great, it means it will be priced more to maximize profits, not less. When there isn't much demand for something, the price needs to come down to increase demand until it hits the sweet spot of Demand x Price to maximize profits.

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Incorrect. It works both ways, just in different businesses. Do you think same applies to milk and computers?

I'm very excited about the Drobo 5D.

But I can't make use of it yet because both my Macs do not have Thunderbolt. The ability to add a mSATA SSD to it will also improve the speed of the machine.

I have had a Drobo Gen 2, and then upgraded to a Drobo S because the Gen 2 wasn't fast enough for video editing.

The Gen 2 Drobo was too loud, but it worked well for iTunes storage.

The Drobo S has been excellent and is quieter, and the new ones are supposed to have quicker internal hardware and the improved fans also.

When I upgrade my iMac (which won't be likely until the 2013 model), I will definitely be getting one of these.

I cannot speak higher about Drobo's. They are great.

Well, it's around the same price as the Pegasus units...My R4 cost £849, and it's pretty much £ for $. I wonder if that's how they've arrived at the pricing structure. I agree, it's expensive, but it's not like you buy one every year.

Promise may have more than just a head start though....The Pegasus range has been around a while now. The Drobo has USB3 which is absent in the Promise units, and they also include the stupidly expensive T/Bolt cable which Promise do not.

No Video pass-through though...On balance it's good to see some competition now. Promise have had the market niche as it is to themselves for some time. As more companies produce these units, the price...In theory at least, should fall.

Man i always wanted a Drobo since i first saw them, but the price always put me off, and still does, only reason i have the 4Bay Drobo Gen 2 is because it fell to £199.99 , the original asking price of north of £500 was just ridiculous for what it is.

Assuming, as always, a $ to £ conversion, because we brits get ripped off all the time, the drobo mini, which i would have LOVED to use as an expandable boot drive for my iMac will have to be shelved, so instead of the Drobo mini+120GB mSATA + 2x256gb SSDs + room to expand i was planning on, i guess ill be getting a single 512gb SSD and Go Flex SSD Adapter for about a third the cost.

Seriously Drobo, can't you be happy with Apple levels of profits and set your prices at a realistic level, rather than Triple that ?

Nightarchaon said:

Man i always wanted a Drobo since i first saw them, but the price always put me off, and still does, only reason i have the 4Bay Drobo Gen 2 is because it fell to £199.99 , the original asking price of north of £500 was just ridiculous for what it is.

Assuming, as always, a $ to £ conversion, because we brits get ripped off all the time, the drobo mini, which i would have LOVED to use as an expandable boot drive for my iMac will have to be shelved, so instead of the Drobo mini+120GB mSATA + 2x256gb SSDs + room to expand i was planning on, i guess ill be getting a single 512gb SSD and Go Flex SSD Adapter for about a third the cost.

Seriously Drobo, can't you be happy with Apple levels of profits and set your prices at a realistic level, rather than Triple that ?

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I'm a member of the Promise BETA test team, and I asked pretty much exactly your question...Why the price? You have an enclosure, 4 drives...and a Logic Board....They came back with the "Thunderbolt is a complex technology" excuse. I'm betting you'd get the same answer from Drobo. Frankly, I think it's profiteering, but there you go.

Macman45 said:

I'm a member of the Promise BETA test team, and I asked pretty much exactly your question...Why the price? You have an enclosure, 4 drives...and a Logic Board....They came back with the "Thunderbolt is a complex technology" excuse. I'm betting you'd get the same answer from Drobo. Frankly, I think it's profiteering, but there you go.

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I'm not convinced it is profiteering by Drobo/Promise/Belkin/LaCie et al. By now you'd have had an entrant that undercut the market and made a killing.

I've heard noises elsewhere by companies for whom on paper TB is a no brainer, but because TB is being so tightly controlled by Apple, it doesn't make sense for them to get involved.

You could say Thunderbolt is just a bag of hurt.

Most normal people just buy a "USB hard drive" and whatever it is, it is. At least I know what I'm buying, but USB 3 isn't even a factor for me. USB 2 is just fine, as it is for 95% of users.

ps45 said:

I've heard noises elsewhere by companies for whom on paper TB is a no brainer, but because TB is being so tightly controlled by Apple, it doesn't make sense for them to get involved.

You could say Thunderbolt is just a bag of hurt.

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That's inaccurate, Apple is not involved in the licensing at all. All that has been given to Intel. Only Intel controls TB right now. Apple helped with the initial spec work on cabling and other parts but the rest was done by Intel.

Apple also transferred the trademark for TB to Intel.

Those companies are just spreading FUD because TB may eat into their profit margins as it'll require more complex parts to buy to fit into their designs.

Those companies only need a license to build TB into their designs, no royalties are required. They do need to buy controllers from Intel as Intel's the only company building it. So, that's Intel's revenue for now from TB.

Source: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5425/why-thunderbolt-wont-come-to-the-iphone-anytime-soon

BiggAW said:

Most normal people just buy a "USB hard drive" and whatever it is, it is. At least I know what I'm buying, but USB 3 isn't even a factor for me. USB 2 is just fine, as it is for 95% of users.

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USB 2 is too slow. Even everyday Joe will wonder why it takes so long for Time Machine to backup. For example.

ps45 said:

I'm not convinced it is profiteering by Drobo/Promise/Belkin/LaCie et al. By now you'd have had an entrant that undercut the market and made a killing.

I've heard noises elsewhere by companies for whom on paper TB is a no brainer, but because TB is being so tightly controlled by Apple, it doesn't make sense for them to get involved.

You could say Thunderbolt is just a bag of hurt.

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Well, I have an R4, and I wouldn't change it, it does do the speed claimed, but yes, you pay a premium price, but Intel have plenty of potential to use it too..I guess companies just don't know what else to use it for...Storage was a no brainer, but look how long it took them to come out with stuff...My T/Bolt cable was a freebie with my latest iMac (now a year old) I only bought my Pegasus back in May, and then only because I got a discount on it. When the Pro range has Thunderbolt included (it better, it's my next upgrade when the refresh occurs) I think we will see a plethora of "New" uses for it that companies are keeping in R&D at the moment....Restricting it to Monitors and fast storage makes very little economic sense, and if they do, the prices for this equipment will remain artificially high.

I think if you compare USB 3 to USB 2 and productivity means anything to you, you will immediately retract this statement. USB 3 is FAR superior.

For all those considering the new Drobos, I highly recommend you read this blog post (and the comments) from Scott Kelby. Proceed with caution.

http://scottkelby.com/2012/im-done-with-drobo/

BiggAW said:

Most normal people just buy a "USB hard drive" and whatever it is, it is. At least I know what I'm buying, but USB 3 isn't even a factor for me. USB 2 is just fine, as it is for 95% of users.

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jaduffy108 said:

I think if you compare USB 3 to USB 2 and productivity means anything to you, you will immediately retract this statement. USB 3 is FAR superior.

For all those considering the new Drobos, I highly recommend you read this blog post (and the comments) from Scott Kelby. Proceed with caution.

http://scottkelby.com/2012/im-done-with-drobo/

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True, I have the Promise because I edit video and music in real-time...I don't have an rMBP and have no plans to buy one, so no USB3 option anyway..As stated, for backups and simple file copy / access, USB2 works fine...It's for a minority of us folks who need the speed, and that of course is yet another reason for the premium price. I guess they think all photographers / producers are rich....I wish..

hexor said:

Anyone looking for a NAS should first look at Synology instead of Drobo. Light years ahead.

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Oh, very interesting! What's the model # of the one with Thunderbolt?

$849 for the 5D? Seems a little steep...

jaduffy108 said:

For all those considering the new Drobos, I highly recommend you read this blog post (and the comments) from Scott Kelby. Proceed with caution.

http://scottkelby.com/2012/im-done-with-drobo/

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I usually respect his opinions on stuff, but that post is FULL of intentionally inflammatory statements and exaggerations. He posted it 'on accident' before he was ready and obviously wrote it in anger without really editing the results.

His true complaint at the heart of the post is his experienced failure rates, the short warranty period, and the fact that if it dies you have limited options. These are the things to consider.

He is smart enough to have proper backups of his critical data so the long diatribe about 'holding his images hostage' is just bunk. All he had to do was buy another solution, move his drives over (or just buy a spare HDD big enough to hold his current working data), and restore his data from backup.

For one, I would wait to see benchmark data. The current gen comes nowhere close to TB speeds, and with USB3 support on the new macs that is probably a better choice cost wise. The current gen (I have a current Drobo S) is faster than USB2 but way slower than USB3 - speeds about the same as a single normal speed internal HDD.

If you want the beyond RAID technology, also check out the Synology - it does the same thing.

ArcaneDevice said:

I'll stick with my Synology NAS thankyouverymuch. Works with everything.

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100% agree!

jcpb said:

For the prices Drobo intends to charge, relative to their potential performance, they are a difficult value proposition.

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Compared to what, exactly? What products do you view as direct competitors that are properly positioned on the value proposition front?

fxapple said:

I've had a Drobo for about a year and do not see the cost vs benefit to go Thunderbolt. Actually not really impressed with Drobo in general.

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I purchased a Drobo FS two years ago, and really regret it. I've had nothing but trouble with it. Drobo customer service staff has been mostly unhelpful and, in one instance, downright rude (the guy sarcastically told me he'd buy me a cup of coffee if I'd drop my service request).

Anyone seriously considering a Drobo product should first search Google for customer reviews.

Buyer beware.

I was going to buy a new USB3 HDD for my new iMac, for backing up but decided to go FW800, not as cheap but a damn side cheaper that TB... At this rate we might be able to afford TB in about 10 years

Complaints?!?!

Whoa- I can't believe that people are complaining about the price! Since thunderbolt came out, everyone I know who owns a Drobo has been waiting for this! I love my Drobo and now is a perfect time to upgrade. Does it cost more than other devices out there? Yes. My Mac costs more than many PCs. My Audi costs more than many other cars. The list goes on and on. You get what you pay for.
My Drobo is going on 5 years old now (2nd Gen.) and hasn't failed me once! It's a great product. This new one paired with a new Mac Mini will be a fierce little file server!

motoracer1486 said:

Who would actually shell out this kind of money?

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People with money. Whom do you think?

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auero said:

I don't think some people here understand that this isn't aimed at people who want to store and or backup photos of their cats. This is for people who need massive storage and need it quickly.

Drobo still sells their original NAS which are expensive as well (for what it really is). If you need one that bad, you still have options. This is still a new technology which is JUST beginning to reach the PC market. You'll pay a premium for being an early adopter.

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Well said.

This is the reason the button for down is needed. The simple minded don't get it and you have to reply to the brainless or those on the side line will start believe the craziness.

Plenty of people will buy this product at its price because its all business deductible and easy to justify if your someone needing the speed. To many kids in the forum.