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Belkin Shows Off Upcoming Thunderbolt Express Dock

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Apr 12, 2001
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Ever since Apple introduced its new Apple Thunderbolt Display, which should begin shipping in the very near future, users have been hoping for a product that offers the same docking station capabilities without the integrated monitor and $999 price tag.

belkin_thunderbolt_dock_1.jpg



Belkin may soon have an answer for those users, as DailyTech notes that the company is using this week's Intel Developer Forum to show off a new docking station offering essentially the exact same connectivity as found on the back of Apple's new display.
The Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock features three USB ports, a Thunderbolt port for daisy chaining, a Firewire port, and a GbE port. This is basically the same port setup that's found on the new 27" Apple Thunderbolt Display.

For Apple users looking for expanded port offerings via the Thunderbolt port and don't want to pay $999 for the functionality, the Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock will come in handy.
Click to expand...
belkin_thunderbolt_dock_2.jpg



Unfortunately, there is no word yet on pricing or a launch date for the docking station, so users will have to wait for Belkin to release more details.

Article Link: Belkin Shows Off Upcoming Thunderbolt Express Dock
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/13/belkin-shows-off-upcoming-thunderbolt-express-dock/
Looks great!
I wonder if you could rest an MBP or MBA on the device.
Looks like you could
 
I have a need for this. Apple decided to pack their external ports too close together on the MB Pro. I'd love to get one cable and port to handle all the persistently plugged in peripherals I'd have: my displayport LED monitor, my Wacom Tablet, my FW800 external RAID, and a thumb drive.
 
How many of these can you daisy chain? You can have up to 6 TB units in a chain, iirc, but that doesn't found all the ports that each node enables?
 
This has been the one and only thing I have been looking forward to with TB. I can't wait until they release this! Just a question of pricing now.
 
I'd be far more interested in this if it had an SATA or eSATA port on the dock. :(

Still it is nice to see adapters finally start to come out. Let's hope it's not too pricey!
 
Bit annoying to have the power lead on the front though, poking out all the time where you can see it/ where it gets in the way
 
Putting the DC in jack right in the middle of all the other connectors was an interesting choice... Seems it would have been a little more functional to put the power jack where that cable wouldn't interfere...
 
If they can keep the price to $100 then this will sell well. I was excited about the Sonnet ExpressCard 34 device, but not as much when the $150 price tag was announced. Remember, these things require a $50 cable to connect. $100+50 would justify Ethernet, FireWire, and a USB hub. $150+50 is still doable, but more than that would turn away a lot of people.
 
Mattsasa said:
are those usb 3.0 or usb 2.0 ports?
Click to expand...

3-USB2 ports just like the new display. USB 3 ports are blue, not white. SO for me this is a BIG FAIL by Belkin unless its just not physically possible to go TB -> USB3.

If that's the case then TB itself is a big fail for users looking to hook cheap storage to TB.

It took years for Firewire drives to come down in price and they are still hard to find, sound familiar?
 
wikus said:
An adapter being a regular miniDisplay port to HDMI cable, correct? (I use an Asus PA246Q monitor).

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Most, if not all. Regardless, the bottleneck will be USB 2.0 on the laptop itself, it wouldnt make a difference to have USB 3.0 on the hub.
Click to expand...

1. Yup
2. Not if it's going through the TB port
 
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