CES 2012: Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock to Launch in September at $299

[Doc69]

I would buy one if it was $129. Bit $299? Seriously? Hopefully prices will come down as more of these comes out from other companies. But why the omission of USB 3.0 and eSata ports? Without those, this product is mainly geared towards MacBook Air users. It seems strange to limit the appeal like that. With USB 3.0 and eSata, more MacBook Pro and Mac Mini users would be interested as well.

 

[WhoDaKat]

Thats too bad, because it looks nice for a hub. eSATA, USB 3, and what the hell, mini-SAS connections, and I'd probably pay the $299.

Firewire and USB 2? Um, how stupid are you people? They already make these hubs, they don't need TB to be fully saturated, and they are way cheaper. Who are these hubs marketed to? I've got a TB port but I'm not going to use it just for the sake of using it.

I've got a dollar that says this thing gets retooled prior to September. They probably needed to show something now, and thats why they are waiting another 9 months to actually sell it. Look for this to launch with USB 3 at a minimum.

 

[Battlefield Fan]

just imagine what the lacie dock will cost.... probably $399. At that point it'd be smartest to just go ahead and get the drive.

 

[dagamer34]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/9A405)

Pricing is so atrocious on this product, I am almost going to call TB "DoA" in the consumer market (catering only to professionals means products never hit the best part of the economy-of-scale curve, reinforcing high prices)

 

[omenatarhuri]

These prices are insane, I think TB doesn't add value as much as it does price in comparison to USB3. People expect these things to cost about 30 dollars like the USB2 hubs. 10x the price won't do.

Too bad, since I have the 2011 MBP.

 

[psxp]

way too much $ and too late to market.

I'll keep an eye out for it at the liquidators in early 2013.

 

[Peace]

Well this is a first. The people have spoken.
Not one positive thing said about this item in 58 posts.

 

[bmacir]

That's a mockup. There's a pic here:

http://www.hardwarezone.com/tech-ne...rbolt-express-dock-revealed-ces-unveiled-2012

Sadly the mockup is much better. The real thing sucks.

 

[NYC Russ]

I'd buy it for $99

if it had a built in iPhone dock and USB 3.

 

[yg17]

Well this is a first. The people have spoken.
Not one positive thing said about this item in 58 posts.

I'd like to know what people would be saying if it was Apple selling this thing for 300 bucks.....

 

[Le Big Mac]

To little too late - sorry, I should say: too much ($$) too late....

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THAT is sure true - but can this thing make your day and lighten you up with a hug and a kiss...? Didn't think so.

Another reason why the Apple monitor is a better deal - that can give you a hug and a kiss and lighten me up.

 

[Jolly Jimmy]

Sadly the mockup is much better. The real thing sucks.

I prefer the real thing. Not a big a fan of tacos

 

[auero]

This would have been great if I didn't buy a TB display already. I'd love this in addition to a u2711 screen but oh well. I wonder if this will allow the second tb port to daisy chain an extra display off when connected to a TB display.

 

[LordVic]

Well this is a first. The people have spoken.
Not one positive thing said about this item in 58 posts.

the only positive to this is,

It's what the majority of Macbook Air users are looking for in a one cable expansion solution.

I would love a Thunderbolt based dock that I could use at home to easily dock my MBA.

Yes, USB3.0 would be nice, but isn't a make or break thing.
eSata? no thx.

But the passthrough so i can use my own MDP -> DVI / VGA is a huge plus for those of us who use our own displays. I have a slightly older IPS display that i'm not about to replace, so a TB Display is out of the question.

But there is nothing on this device that warrants it being $300. there just isn't! its got your standard run of the mill Network controller, USB2 controller and TB pass through.

seriously Belkin. how do you justify it's $300? thats the biggest question!

Here: http://www.startech.com/Cards-Adapt...g-Station-with-VGA-Audio-Ethernet~USBVGADOCK2

does exactly the same thing(minus the TB pass through and only 100mbps network), but it's also $200 cheaper

 

[scoobydoo99]

I guess that's cheaper than a 999$ display. Frankly, it's a bit too expensive for my taste, .

Cheaper, yes. But that makes the entire 27" monitor only $700 more. A bargain.

 

[nylonsteel]

re original article

belkin such a slow poke in releasing such a device

too expensive - typical of belkin

 

[Westyfield2]

Lulz. Too much $$$ and too long away.

 

[ctdonath]

Will it randomly redirect web page requests to Belkin ads?

(Yeah, still bitter about that one.)

 

[CrackedButter]

At least the release gives everybody a chance to save their cash if they decide they do want it.

 

[ZipZap]

Everyone should probably thank Intel as I am sure their licensing costs are driving the pricing.

Lets hope next round of MBA's have USB 3.0.

 

[khollister]

USB 3.0 and eSATA - $299 maybe
As is ? - $150 tops

Same problem with the LaCie eSATA box - no USB, ethernet or Firewire.

And the Sonnet TB -> ExpressCard is a hack IMHO.

TB was/is a good idea technically, but the implementation in industry is a complete failure for most users at this point. Too little, too expensive.

 

[bdkennedy1]

I wouldn't buy that if it were $99. The scary thing is they that don't seem to understand how ridiculous $299 is for a dock.

 

[Bubba Satori]

Country club peripherals aren't cheap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmannAYiwh0

 

[CanadianGuy]

Insane

$300 is insane. If that's the real price Belkin, don't even waste your time shipping these.

$50 as described, might sell. $75 with eSATA and/or USB 3.0.

 

[spda242]

This could have been such a great product if it had 3xUSB3, 1-2xEsata, available sooner than an Eon away and lower price...now it is just ROTFLMO