CES 2013: Belkin Drops eSATA Support for Upcoming Thunderbolt Express Dock, Cuts Price Back to $299

[chapinbk]

What I'd like to hear from any of these threads are user-reviews of the Matrox DS1. My guess is that it performs to spec. Would be nice to hear about it though...

EDIT:
http://www.redsharknews.com/technolo...underbolt-dock

[cdpage]

The only options thus for for a MacBook Docking station as of Feb 2013 are

Matrox - DS-1 $249

PORTS:
1x Thunderbolt
1x USB 3.0
1x Ethernet
1x HDMI
2x USB 2.0
Audio In/Out

Belkin - Thunderbolt Express $299

PORTS:
2x Thunderbolt
3x USB 3.0
1x Ethernet
1x Firewire 800
Audio In/Out

Henge - Horizontal Dock $249 - ($349 Thunderbolt)

PORTS:
1x Firewire 800
1x Ethernet
1x SD card
6x USB3.0
3x Video(Thunderbolt or DisplayPort)?
2x audio out

Each have their own pro's and con's

Matrox

PRO:

HDMI

CON:

USB2
No thunderbolt out

Notes:

While it is the cheapest of the bunch, i'd hardly say it's worth $250
Also its the least good looking if that matters to you

Belkin

Pro:

3x USB 3.0
Can Daisy chain thunderbolt

Con:

Price
availability

Henge

Pro

6 USB 3
3 video... though i can't make out if thats thunderbolt or display port
2x audio outs... could be useful for headphones or speakers
SD Card slot (while not easily accessible this is an excellent ad on)

Con:

Price
Availability

[MagnusVonMagnum]

Originally Posted by cdpage

The only options thus for for a MacBook Docking station as of Feb 2013 are

It sounds like only ONE of them are anything but vaporware. Even Apple hasn't bothered to update their monitor's hub to USB 3.0. This hardly makes these devices appealing in any sense of the word. One wire to rule them all for a dock sounds good, but the cost is ridiculous and the products are pretty much still vaporware TWO YEARS later. At this rate USB 4.0 will be out before we see a reasonable Thunderbolt dock.

[cdpage]

I was considering the Belkin even with its lofty price tag for work... I might be able to convince the company to expence it.

But after having looked at the Henge, this is a real dock, with all the bells and whistles you'd expect from a dock. for $50 LESS/MORE, depending on what the difference is, both seem better than the Belkin either way you look at it.

As for the Matrox, well if you need HDMI this may be your best option. even though it's limited in every other way.

Looks like I found my Xmas present, and possibly some work station options for people at work finally. (come Q4)

[chapinbk]

By and large, TB will remain viable (if not spectacular), just as FW has, so long as Intel, Apple, and other major investors are major industry players. I may not know a lot about info tech manufacturing, and I'll humor the idea that TB overreached, but it works, and it's scalable, and I doubt that even the idea of owning a bunch of expensive dongles (for the small-scale Apple Computer user), as an alternative to expensive equipment, is really prohibitive. Apple remains a brand that caters to two types of users; Spendthrifts and professionals. Take your pick, price is not the object.

[chapinbk]

And in other highly anticipated news....

Originally Posted by chapinbk

IN OTHER... ***HIGHLY ANTICIPATED*** NEWS
So, Belkin's site had a pre-order button for the dock for all of what, three days? Maybe they didn't manufacture enough in the first run, for fear they'd exceed demand. There were more rabid enthusiasts ready to pre-order it than they'd expected, so they stalled additional pre-orders, rather than mark it as backordered? Who knows.

I pre-ordered on Tue, got an e-mail this morning that it'll ship the first week in March.

*sigh*

Well at least Belkin International isn't incommunicado. They fired off an e-mail to my pre-order address on Friday (yesterday) - the last business day of the first week of March, 2013 - to apologize for... you guessed it... ANOTHER delay. Vaporware indeed - I sort of had my hopes up this time *shakes head*

On the upside, they're sending me a free Belkin Loft! -a $60 value
http://www.belkin.com/us/F5L083/p/P-F5L083

Thank you for pre-ordering the Thunderbolt Express Dock.

Your shipment is delayed and we apologize for the inconvenience. Your credit card will not be charged. We will notify you when the product is available to ship. In addition, we will be sending you a gift of a Belkin Loft for your MacBook.

If you have any further questions regarding your pre-order, please contact Customer Care at 310- 751-5560.

Thank you,
The Belkin Team

I'll be placing a perfunctory call on Monday

[cdpage]

So far, here is what is or could be available for Thunderbolt Docking Stations

good luck hunting. Hopefully these are MSRP prices and the street prices will be much less. Otherwise BlunderBolt will be living up to its name.

Matrox - DS-1 — $249

PORTS:
1x Thunderbolt
1x USB 3.0
1x Ethernet
1x HDMI
2x USB 2.0
Audio In/Out

PRO:
HDMI

CON:
Price
USB 2.0
1x Thunderbolt

CalDigital - Thunderbolt Station — $199

PORTS:
2x Thunderbolt
3x USB 3.0 (1 front)
1x Ethernet
1x HDMI
Audio In/Out

PRO:
Daisy chain thunderbolt
3x USB 3.0
HDMI

CON:
Pricy for limited funtions, cheapest in the pack..

Belkin - Thunderbolt Express — $299

PORTS:
2x Thunderbolt
3x USB 3.0
1x Ethernet
1x Firewire 800
Audio In/Out

PRO:
3x USB
Daisy Chain Thunderbolt

CON:
Price

Henge - Horizontal Dock — $349

PORTS:
1x Firewire 800
1x Ethernet
1x SD card
6x USB3.0
3x Video(Thunderbolt or DisplayPort)?
2x audio out

PRO:
6 USB 3
3 video... though i can't make out if thats thunderbolt or display port
2x audio outs... could be useful for headphones or speakers
SD Card slot (while not easily accessible this is an excellent ad on)

CON:
Price

Sunix - Thunderbolt Dock — No Price

PORTS:
2x Thunderbolt
4x USB 3.0
1x Ethernet
1x BluRay drive
1x SATA slot (3.5")
1x Mini Card Reader (SD, MMC, MS,xD)
1x Mic
2x Stereo
1x SPDIF

PRO:
BluRay
SATA
2x Thunderbolt
4 USB 3.0

CON:
Q4?
price?

Sonnet - Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock — $399 DVD, $450 BluRay

PORTS:
2x Thunderbolt
4x USB 3.0 (2 front)
1x Ethernet
1x Optical Drive (BluRay option)
1x Drive Bay (2.5 or 3.5 SSD or HDD)
2x eSATA ports
2x Audio In/Out (Front and back)

PRO:
Optical Drive options
Drive Slot
2x Thunderbolt
4 USB 3.0

CON:
Price
available by summer

Models without an HDD will be available from Sonnet and its resellers
Models with an HDD will be sold exclusively through Sonnet's online store

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@ Moderator.

You're welcome to move this to a new thread on its own. I tried posting this as a New thread, but couldn't seem to. i don't have the privileges? and asking for the reregistration didn't send to my email.

If you could that would be great. It would make more sense as this more than just the one model.

[MagnusVonMagnum]

Originally Posted by cdpage

CON:
Price
available by summer

That's a con? Given NONE of them (to my knowledge) have ever been released, I'd put "CON: VAPORWARE" by ALL of them. I don't think any of these cats are serious about releasing anything and all of them seem to think a TB dock should cost as much as a Mac Mini. Apple could release a driver to make the Mac Mini a "dock" (hey it would have 4 USB 3.0 ports, FW 800, 1-2 hard drives, Ethernet, HDMI video, 2-4x extra CPUs, and oh yeah, it's a 2nd freaking computer if you want it.

In short, no dock selling for HUNDREDS of dollars (some as high as $399) is in any way reasonable, not when you can get a base Mini for $599 that has MOST of the dock "features" already on it.

[chapinbk]

f-it, I'm flat out sick of waiting, I've got better things to do with my life. It's a new year, emphasis on "year", and my rMBP isn't getting any younger. Matrox DS1 ftw. Haven't formally cancelled my Belkin ExpressDock pre-order just yet, but broke down & ordered up DS1 direct from Matrox this past week anyway, and it's worth every penny. A couple less USB 3, no firewire (broke down and bought the Thunderbolt-->Firewire adapter for use on my rMBP second Thunderbolt port anyway, waiting for stupid Belkin to get its act together), but DS1 works flawlessly. Sorry Belkin, go home.