Why is anything related to Thunderbolt so insanely expensive? Are companies having to fork over 25% of their revenue on Thunderbolt devices to Apple or something? That hub looks to be leaps and bounds better than the similar Matrox hub (assuming it works as advertised.)
But I can't remember the last time I paid more than $50 for a USB 2.0 or ethernet hub. This thing has eSATA (cool), an RJ45 jack, USB 3.0, and Thunderbolt connectivity. I'd pay $125-$150 for it because of the extra ports, but $400 is asinine. Someone at Apple has to be looking at the cost of these Thunderbolt devices and shaking their head. This device, in particular, is lucrative in the consumer market; but the price screams "professional use only."
Ten bucks says this hub will be Alex Lindsay's pick of the week on MacBreak Weekly within the next six months -- and he'll probably buy 5 of them. That same ten bucks says that the majority of listeners to the podcast will shake their heads in disbelief.