Matrox Announces DS-1 Thunderbolt Docking Station for $249

[lilo777]

The problem is Matrox sells products for Audio and Video Pros. They should know that there are lots of legacy FW devices that people rely on.

Matrox are simply following Apple's lead on support for legacy stuff

 

[bushido]

the irony is that something like this will retail for $29 in a few years. if thunderbolt is still around by then. gotta love how technology evolves

 

[irmongoose]

DVI don't carry audio like HDMI, so you will need another cable for sound. Like you said silly.

Actually, audio over DVI is not unheard of... though it requires a video card specifically allowing for said functionality, so I'm not holding my breath.



irmongoose

 

[atMac]

No FW800 = not an option for me.

 

[lilo777]

No FW 400 or 800, no 2nd TB port. No deal. What are they thinking? Looks like a rush to market.

Look, people have different needs and manufacturers are going to produce devices tailored to those needs. As far as docking stations are concerned, this particular device can certainly satisfy the needs of most customers. When you dock a laptop, in most cases you need to connect to a monitor, keyboard, mouse and ethernet. In a corporate world that's probably about 90% of cases. At home, one might add an external hard drive. Very few will need anything else. Why pay for extra ports then? And those who do need extras will buy Belkin o something else.

 

[scottsjack]

Yet two more pieces of hardware to carry around with a new light (duty) MBA. Why not just get a proper laptop with all of the right connections built in?

Getting a super thin laptop and then dragging around a bunch of stuff to make it fully functional reminds me of the silliness of getting a post-PC-world iPad, then a Bluetooth keyboard and a case to carry all of it it that effectively converts the iPad into a really weak laptop.

The sacrifices some people make for style . . .

 

[reden]

The problem with these TB products, price. $249 is a lot of money for this.

 

[RonPriest]

Why?

This product makes no freakin' sense!

 

[albusseverus]

I just don't see the point of these things. Too few ports. Too expensive. Is Thunderbolt made of Latinum or something?

Somebody do the maths for me, please. I just don't know where to start…

• Thunderbolt pass through
• 5 FireWire ports
• 7 USB ports
• Analogue or digital audio and video, if you must, but I really can't see the point
• Ethernet and anything else Apple's determined to take away, ditto

If a Thunderbolt break-out box had this, for under $100, would we buy it?

 

[bocomo]

What do you mean "Remember" if you want anything over 4' it is almost $100 still

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10240&cs_id=1024008&p_id=3993&seq=1&format=2

 

[iVoid]

Another Thunderbolt failure. A single TB port means it has to be last in line and can't daisy chain anything else onto it. No way I'll buy it. (just like I don't buy FW devices with a single port).

 

[Stella]

Personally, I'd really like to see just a TB -> USB3.0 adapter.

 

[fox10078]

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10240&cs_id=1024008&p_id=3993&seq=1&format=2

I meant monster cables, as that what the post I quoted was talking about... Monoprice has always been much much cheaper.

 

[Navdakilla]

I agree with all the haters in here. This is another piece of garbage

 

[AidenShaw]

Maybe Apple is depending on things like this to take care of the pro market in the future...

If that's the case, pros should not be depending on Apple.

The 27" Apple Thunderbolt Display *is* Apple's answer to the docking station. It provides power, USB, Firewire, Ethernet, speakers, display, camera, and extends the Thunderbolt port. You could hardly ask for more in a docking station, although you might ask for less!

One certainly could ask for a docking station for less than $1000 !!

 

[TheRdungeon]

Does anyone know why these things don't include 2 HDMI ports? would love to hook up two displays, even two dvi ports would be fine by me

 

[hayesk]

I'm not sure I get the appeal for this product.
You can simply:

- get a USB hub if you wanted more ports
- use a dongle for DVI
- use a dongle for ethernet

All will cost less than $249. If it had another thunderbolt and firewire it would make sense, but without it, I don't get it.

Leo

What dongle gives you gigabit Ethernet? Or USB 3?

This is a convenience product. It's so you only have to connect one cable when you arrive at your desk.

Funny people call this a rip off when Apple's display is priced at least this much over a similar sized display.

 

[341328]

DisplayPort

Does the DVI support 2560 x 1600? I have a 30" Dell monitor. Why not offer a DisplayPort or mini displayport instead of just the big DVI connector.

Otherwise this looks great!

 

[cgk.emu]

249 € and this thing is as ugly as possible? Well, at least it got TWO ridiculously large Matrox logos.

In my view, any new TB products help adoption, and this certainly seems useful. The physical appearance seems just "dull" to me, but I wouldn't go as far as saying "as ugly as possible". I'm pretty sure the designers weren't thinking that...

 

[341328]

Windows 7

Now I just need this to work with Windows 7 or 8 from sleeping computer WITHOUT a restart!!

 

[weaponEX]

Ultrabook?

 

[AidenShaw]

Now I just need this to work with Windows 7 or 8 from sleeping computer WITHOUT a restart!!

It probably will, when you can buy a Windows laptop with T-Bolt.

Until then, complain to Apple about their lack of support for Windows.

 

[deftdrummer]

Yet two more pieces of hardware to carry around with a new light (duty) MBA. Why not just get a proper laptop with all of the right connections built in?

Getting a super thin laptop and then dragging around a bunch of stuff to make it fully functional reminds me of the silliness of getting a post-PC-world iPad, then a Bluetooth keyboard and a case to carry all of it it that effectively converts the iPad into a really weak laptop.

The sacrifices some people make for style . . .

Pot. Kettle. Black. - The irony.

 

[KPOM]

Compared to proprietary docking stations, this isn't too bad. Hopefully the USB 3.0 port will work right on any Thunderbolt Mac once Mountain Lion is available. In any case, it's good to see more players in the Thunderbolt peripheral market.

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Yet two more pieces of hardware to carry around with a new light (duty) MBA. Why not just get a proper laptop with all of the right connections built in?

Getting a super thin laptop and then dragging around a bunch of stuff to make it fully functional reminds me of the silliness of getting a post-PC-world iPad, then a Bluetooth keyboard and a case to carry all of it it that effectively converts the iPad into a really weak laptop.

The sacrifices some people make for style . . .

For starters, this can be left on a desktop and used in lieu of a traditional docking station. Also, it isn't' like road warriors always need access to all of their equipment. My current 5.5lb "thin and light" HP Elitebook requires me to lug around an optical drive, VGA port, modem port, and other legacy devices even though I don't need them 99% of the time.

If my employer would let me use my MacBook Air for work, I'd switch in a heartbeat.

 

[york2600]

It's a docking station

The use case here is a docking station. A lot of us take our laptops between a work desk and a home office. This would be very useful for docking quickly between the two. Right now I have power, ethernet, and 2 USB plugged into my laptop in my home office. I'd love to turn that into power and TB