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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,290
30,372



Sonnet has announced a new Thunderbolt dock that combines USB 3.0, SATA and eSATA, FireWire 800, audio input and output, and Gigabit Ethernet ports, a DVD or Blu-ray reader/burner, as well as a 2.5" or 3.5" 6 Gb/s SATA drive bay.

The dock is available for pre-order for $400 with a DVD drive and $450 with a Blu-ray drive. Additional choices are available with hard drives built-in.

sonnetthunderbolt.jpg
Back in February, nearly 18 months after it was announced, Belkin announced it was finally taking pre-orders for its Thunderbolt Express Dock. However, the company has again delayed shipment of the device, issuing this statement to MacRumors:
Belkin's Thunderbolt Express Dock utilizes a brand new interface and has an ambitious set of features. The Belkin team is taking the time and steps necessary to ensure that we deliver the best user experience possible. Customers who placed pre-orders for the Thunderbolt Express Dock on Belkin.com were alerted of the new product status and will be kept up to date via email.

Article Link: Sonnet Announces Thunderbolt Dock With Internal Drive Bay and Blu-Ray Drive
 

srxtr

macrumors 6502a
Jul 1, 2010
611
0
Awesome.

Now, how about a thunderbolt dock that us normal folks can afford?
 

Jimmy James

macrumors 603
Oct 26, 2008
5,488
4,067
Magicland
$450 for a dock that adds ports & Blu-ray?

This is hardware I hope to find in a computer in the first place.

Also note , it say drive bay. No actual drive.
 

theart666

macrumors newbie
Jun 26, 2010
10
0
I guess you pay high for the design?..

Looks like a piece of ****! as if Apple had anything to do with this.. jeez
 

komodrone

macrumors 6502
Apr 26, 2011
499
0
For all it has $400 is cheap.

I'm not carrying a chunky device that costs $400 that has a whole bunch of stuff I don't need.

BEFORE you reply to this comment saying "then don't buy it", you should read the entire conversation.
 
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LimeiBook86

macrumors G3
May 4, 2002
8,001
45
Go Vegan
This is the first dock I'd consider! USB 3, Thunderbolt, a HD dock and a slot for an optical drive plus eSATA? Yay! :D

Yes it's a bit steep but this may add a way to add an SSD to my 2011 iMac and USB 3 capabilities. *crossesfingers*
 

JamonBull

macrumors 6502
Dec 14, 2009
268
520
Australia
Was excited to read about the built in blu-ray drive. But then I remembered that OSX doesn't allow native blu-ray playback. You know, I've always understood the value in dropping the optical drives, but to NOT allow playback of blu-ray films? WTF Apple.
 

Slim02

macrumors 6502
Sep 11, 2008
275
0
$450 for a dock that adds ports & Blu-ray?

This is hardware I hope to find in a computer in the first place.

Also note , it say drive bay. No actual drive.

You can get Blu-ray and HDD together...
Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock (with Blu-ray Drive + 2TB HDD)
$549.99

http://store1.sonnettech.com/product_info.php?&products_id=458

Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock (with Blu-ray Drive)
$449.99

http://store1.sonnettech.com/product_info.php?&products_id=456



Optical media is dead. Give it up already.

Maybe in your dreams.. I myself will take Blu-ray and what ever else is after Blu-ray over digital form any day.. Plus I can make my own version of formats from optical media that is better then any digital version you download.. But keep believing in false hope tho...
 
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JamonBull

macrumors 6502
Dec 14, 2009
268
520
Australia
Optical media is dead. Give it up already.

You're wrong. Blu-ray sales of films are strong. P.s. Tell me the non optical disc solution to where consumers can get films in TRUE 1080p HD with loads of special features and subtitles.
 

Rocco83

macrumors 6502
Jul 3, 2011
286
408
I'm not saying Belkin's product will be obsolete by time it comes out...but unless it comes in a lot cheaper than the other options out there people may settle for other docking stations. I don't care for the price, but I'm highly interested in the USB 3 on this dock. Could care less for the Blu-Ray, Audio In/Out, or ethernet port.

I could see how something like this would be pretty nice to take with me when I just have my Air, if I had somewhere to plug into for power. The extra storage I could have in this as well as the ability to hook up to about anything would be nice. You know, as long as it doesn't weigh 10 pounds and look like as big a brick as I think it will be. Upside is you could use it as a bludgeoning weapon in a self defense situation.
 

utekineir

macrumors 6502
Feb 20, 2008
327
1
For non portable use, this just made the constantly delayed and further stripped belkin and matrox docks look like junk.
 

LunaticSX

macrumors newbie
May 26, 2011
17
2
Was excited to read about the built in blu-ray drive. But then I remembered that OSX doesn't allow native blu-ray playback. You know, I've always understood the value in dropping the optical drives, but to NOT allow playback of blu-ray films? WTF Apple.

If you check Sonnet's product page you can see that it comes with Mac drivers for Blu-ray video playback.

Would've been nice if the original MacRumors article mentioned this. :rolleyes: ;)
 

a0me

macrumors 65816
Oct 5, 2006
1,074
166
Tokyo, Japan
You're wrong. Blu-ray sales of films are strong. P.s. Tell me the non optical disc solution to where consumers can get films in TRUE 1080p HD with loads of special features and subtitles.
While I agree with you that Blu-ray blows away digital downloads in terms of quality and features, I'm not sure why you'd need a Blu-ray player for your computer.
A Blu-ray burner I would understand, but if you're going to watch movies on a small computer screen and with PC speakers, you won't be able to tell the difference from a DVD or a digital download.
 

tmanto02

macrumors 65816
Jun 5, 2011
1,217
452
Australia
I think for all it offers it is a great product!

Pity its so butt ugly! They should have made it more Mac Mini-esque! Aluminium would have sucked in so many Fanboys!
 

Rocco83

macrumors 6502
Jul 3, 2011
286
408
While I agree with you that Blu-ray blows away digital downloads in terms of quality and features, I'm not sure why you'd need a Blu-ray player for your computer.
A Blu-ray burner I would understand, but if you're going to watch movies on a small computer screen and with PC speakers, you won't be able to tell the difference from a DVD or a digital download.

Who uses PC speakers? My iMac has a 1030 watt Onkyo 7.1 surround hooked up to it. That way when I watch ripped Blu-ray movies on it I can picture the screen being bigger to match the sounds...At least it makes Spotify seem cooler than it really is.
 
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