My guess here is that this is indeed some sort of Macbook stand - so those connectors would be on the back. That would also explain the rather CHEAP plastic they used.
Also it lacks the 2.0 audio and the mag-power.
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Belkin Shows Off Upcoming Thunderbolt Express Dock
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My guess here is that this is indeed some sort of Macbook stand - so those connectors would be on the back. That would also explain the rather CHEAP plastic they used.
Also it lacks the 2.0 audio and the mag-power.
Well, the point is EXACTLY to profit from USB 3 via the computer's TB port (at least while there are no TB devices out there)...
Wouldnt there be overhead on the controller or something in the Apple computer itself holding back USB 3.0 speeds? I would agree that on a hub with TB and USB 3.0 two separate drives copying files between eachother should give faster speeds than USB 2.0....??
Those are pretty clearly USB2.0 connectors, not USB3.0.
This looks useful. I'd expect price to be ~ $150. I am mildly bummed that Apple didn't see fit to offer any way to integrate the power connection (somehow) with the Thunderbolt port, so there'd be a true one-connection dock, but this is still way better than reconnecting Ethernet, USB, monitor, and power each time.
This looks useful. I'd expect price to be ~ $150. I am mildly bummed that Apple didn't see fit to offer any way to integrate the power connection (somehow) with the Thunderbolt port, so there'd be a true one-connection dock, but this is still way better than reconnecting Ethernet, USB, monitor, and power each time.
Overhead is not the problem here - USB3 drivers are.
Copys within the USB3 would depend on the USB3-chipset behind the Thunderbolt-lane.
The "blue connectors" was a good hint - this one will be USB2.
are there USB 3.0 drivers for the mac yet?
I would love one of these, but if it doesn't do double duty as a stand, they are really missing an opportunity.
I hate plugging in my MBP every day at the office. I have binder clips all over the place keeping wires in place while I'm gone, and there is this whole ritual of plugging and unplugging everything each morning that I could do without.
The only "docking" option available takes away the use of your screen and keyboard, which isn't a good option for me.
I'm really hoping this thing is $99 and comes with a TB cable.
No sure on how usb 3.0 drivers work.
I do agree that this would be the ultimate stand/dock. I am going to purchase a stand for my MBP and was looking at a dock, but if something can do both, awesome.
I would love to see this with USB 3.0 but I have the feeling that the device that it connects to will need USB 3.0 support (software) and a USB 3.0 controller to handle USB 3.0. But I will use Firewire 800 over USB 2 anyday.
nice now we just need a single external hd thats thunderbolt.....or an external enclosure thats thunderbolt.
I like this as
a) I cant afford the TB display
b) I could use this and daisychain a display to this
c) I could use an book arc to hold my mba
it would look nice... or i could forget about it.......
a) I cant afford the TB display
b) I could use this and daisychain a display to this
c) I could use an book arc to hold my mba
it would look nice... or i could forget about it.......
This is JUST what I need. And, unlike other announced Thunderbolt devices (like the Sonnet ExpressCard adapter) it seems to come with its own cable so it won't need Apple's $50 cable.
Also Belkin products are usually not in the same price range as Apple accessories. I'm also hoping for 100-150$ (or rather Euro, in my case).
It should support an external display through the daisy chain port through, otherwise it would be useless to me.
Edit: It probably will work with an external display, according to this blog post it worked with the promise raid array anyway.
By the way I'd also miss USB 3.0 but if it's not there then I'd probably get it anyway. By the way they don't HAVE to be blue. I can't imagine Apple putting a blue port on their laptops on which all the other ports are light grey. They're too much into design to do that.
Also Belkin products are usually not in the same price range as Apple accessories. I'm also hoping for 100-150$ (or rather Euro, in my case).
It should support an external display through the daisy chain port through, otherwise it would be useless to me.
Edit: It probably will work with an external display, according to this blog post it worked with the promise raid array anyway.
By the way I'd also miss USB 3.0 but if it's not there then I'd probably get it anyway. By the way they don't HAVE to be blue. I can't imagine Apple putting a blue port on their laptops on which all the other ports are light grey. They're too much into design to do that.
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I believe TB offers 10W of power (which isn't enough for firewire by itself) per port.
Do you mean full size display port? Because for all intents and purposes the Thunderbolt port is a miniDisplayPort, though not the other way around.
Unless I missed something...
Power
For those of you complaining about the power port on the front. It is not on the front, it is on the back. The picture is of the back, the side with the TB cable would be the front, facing your MBP.
I do wish this had USB 3.0 though. eSATA and SATA are dead soon so this is fine without those.
For those of you complaining about the power port on the front. It is not on the front, it is on the back. The picture is of the back, the side with the TB cable would be the front, facing your MBP.
I do wish this had USB 3.0 though. eSATA and SATA are dead soon so this is fine without those.
Right... USB and SATA/eSATA are two VERY different things.
SATA is a rather low level protocol for short ranged, fast transmissions.
USB has a huge protocol-overlay on both sides and a quite long cable range on cheap cable running in noisy environments. USB knows different protocols and speeds and so on.
Without SATA there would be no HDD to put in your USB case
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!
Thunderbolt to eSATA is definitely the killer feature!