And just like that, preordering is no longer available. Sounds about right for the disaster that is Belkin.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Belkin Thunderbolt Dock
- Thread starter tanker5
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
And just like that, preordering is no longer available. Sounds about right for the disaster that is Belkin.
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, and got an e-mail this morning that it'll ship the first week in March.
2m TB cable from Apple arrived. At $39+shipping, it's obviously a better deal than the $45 1m cable from Belkin. They package it in a 4-inch diameter coil -- guess that's about as much as you'd want to flex it, without causing any damage?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ta1pkgwnu8h25vn/TBcable-2m-Apple.jpg
I pre-ordered on Tue, and got an e-mail this morning that it'll ship the first week in March.
2m TB cable from Apple arrived. At $39+shipping, it's obviously a better deal than the $45 1m cable from Belkin. They package it in a 4-inch diameter coil -- guess that's about as much as you'd want to flex it, without causing any damage?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ta1pkgwnu8h25vn/TBcable-2m-Apple.jpg
Last edited:
Just curious. Are you saying you plan to use the MBP in clamshell mode when docked (which is why you think the henge dock profile is too big)? Seems silly to pay a premium for the retina display then not use it?
Did you guys see this?
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1710259441/new-macbook-docking-station
There is no retina MBP version yet, but it looks really cool
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1710259441/new-macbook-docking-station
There is no retina MBP version yet, but it looks really cool
Kills off your Thunderbolt connectivity
That dock kills off your Thunderbolt connectivity; apparently only one displayport screen may be used; no TB devices in between.
That makes it dead in the water for users who need to daisy chain TB devices. For e.g. : MBP --> TB cable--> Seagate TB Desk Adapter --> Apple Cinema Display (non TB screen, has to be at the end of the daisy chain).
Did you guys see this?
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1710259441/new-macbook-docking-station
There is no retina MBP version yet, but it looks really cool
That dock kills off your Thunderbolt connectivity; apparently only one displayport screen may be used; no TB devices in between.
That makes it dead in the water for users who need to daisy chain TB devices. For e.g. : MBP --> TB cable--> Seagate TB Desk Adapter --> Apple Cinema Display (non TB screen, has to be at the end of the daisy chain).
And we see this time and time again with Apple hardware as well as apps. Apple let's others do the initial groundwork and when something "hits", they steal the idea and release their ow version.
Apple used to have so many allies, now they have enemies.
It is on special offer at Amazon in the UK at the moment. First fully fledged TB dock under £100.
I would have been all over this if I hadn't already got the Kanex.
Attachments
I got a couple of new LaCie TB cables on eBay recently for £5 each.
It does not have serial, parallel, SCSI or ADB ports, either. Totally useless, innit?
Yeah but cube really wants eSATA. And I think its good he wants it he tries for weeks now to get a solution and does not go away from eSATA.
Maybe this
http://www.kanexlive.com/thunderbolt-esata
+
the eSATAp to eSATA + USB cable I posted a while ago in his thread is the solution (maybe he already has a solution)
That is the one I have. Just be aware that the USB 3 port gets VERY hot even with no drives plugged in. I see from reviews of the Belkin that this seems to be the norm with Thunderbolt to USB 3 adapters. Best used with a hub or an extender cable. I made the mistake of putting a thumb drive directly in the port on my first use and almost cooked it to death.
Any proper laptop with ExpressCard can get eSATA if it doesn't already have eSATAp (which would not be constrained).
And it's extremely cheap to add eSATA to a desktop that does not have all its openings occupied, if the motherboard doesn't already have it.
That Apple cripples their hardware does not mean the rest of the world does not use it.
Portable Thunderbolt enclosures not only are expensive, but they are also unusable without a dock, if you also have to connect a normal monitor.
And I'm still waiting to hear if my eSATAp/UASP enclosure translates UNMAP. Even if this is the case, The Apple UAS drivers probably do to use it.
So eSATA is the only complete solution for now (because it can be portable with a proper MBP with ExpressCard).
I bought the eSATAp Y cable and it works, so that it is possible to portably use a small eSATAp drive. The eSATAp card that I bought does not provide enough power, so this other solution does not make sense when there are faster plain eSATA cards.
And finally, if you already have an eSATA RAID enclosure without USB3 that is fast enough, you want a dock with eSATA to minimise plugging/unplugging.
It's not good since he is posting meaningless posts in every possible topic about Thunderbolt/Thunderbolt docks which doesn't help the topic starter nor anyone else in the topic. What he does is topic hijacking and that's a big no no. He should keep it to his own topics.
MBPr and iMac 27" both have dual Thunderbolt ports; Mac Pro has 6 Thunderbolt ports, so they don't require a Dock.
You would still need the "now rarely used" eSATA powered connector.
ExpressCard has a maximum throughput of 2.5 Gbit/s through PCI Express and 480 Mbit/s through USB 2.0 dedicated for each slot. So you would be limited to SATA I speeds, where most of the market is SATA II and III now.
I don't have one of those toys, I have a real computer (a cMBP), which only has one Thunderbolt port.
While not ideal, I can do without an eSATAp port on the computer with a Y cable, which is better than with 2 cables.
I know about the limits of ExpressCard 1.0