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CES: Belkin unveils Thunderbolt Express Dock, coming in Sept. for $299 - Page 2

post #41 of 60
1/9/12 at 12:05pm
1) I quite like the design.

2) It does seem to be missing some ports that are mentioned in the article and it makes no sense for them to be on the right side or back of this model.

3) That MagSafe cable in the mock up seems to have strung through for the sake of it. I'm sure they don't have rights to include that connector as Apple doesn't seem to license it (unfortunately).

4) I don't think the price is excessive for a multi-port dock. Over the years I've seen them go for a lot more doing a lot less, and this is Thunderbolt which is the latest-and-greatest and fast. In a year the prices will have dropped due to many factors working on the market.

5) I am surprised they didn't go for USB 3.0 but I'm also surprised people are asking for eSATA. If TB is the replacement for any port interface type it's eSATA.

6) I hope the headphone jack is also the mic and allow for data access like on iDevices, Macs and other vendors' devices.

7) I can see a PCIe box hitting the market but that would be a separate device than this type of dock. Would that even work out of the box for allowing much better graphics to a large monitor from a notebook without heavy focus on supplemental SW development?

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post #42 of 60
1/9/12 at 12:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wiggin View Post

Price: Yes, it's expensive, but then again Apple charnges $50 just for a cable!

You say "just for a cable" as if it were a simple set of wires. it's not. Each cable has a chip at each end that tunes the cable for the best transmission rate.
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post #43 of 60
1/9/12 at 12:26pm
Somehow I think the other design is correct.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-...-in-september/

CNET is crediting Belkin for that one. MacRumors also updated their image (no longer the taco).

15" MB Pro Early 2011 (2.0 i7 8GB RAM 240 SSD); ATV 3; iPad 3 (32GB, VZW Black); iPhone 4S (16GB AT&T Black); Airport Extreme (2011)

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post #44 of 60
1/9/12 at 12:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by brlawyer View Post

And USB 2.0 will?

Unless everyone in the country is going to abandon tens of millions of USB2 hard drives, flash drives, printers, etc., yes, I imagine it will.
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post #45 of 60
1/9/12 at 12:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ahmlco View Post

You say "just for a cable" as if it were a simple set of wires. it's not. Each cable has a chip at each end that tunes the cable for the best transmission rate.

Is this really necessary?
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post #46 of 60
1/9/12 at 12:49pm
I really don't get what people are talking about with this design. I like it for the simple reason that when you're sitting at a desk everything on this device is on a good angle.

That being said it's designed to have all your gear connected to it and to be left alone hence the single Thunderbolt lead.

I'll definitely be getting one because the USB ports on the Mac are too close to each other meaning those fat USB keys from Kingston won't fit when there is another device plugged into it. Vertical USB is far more sensible.

I can see in a year or two the only ports on a MacBook/Pro will be Magsafe and Thunderbolt. Yaay.
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post #47 of 60
1/9/12 at 1:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Conrail View Post

Is this really necessary?

It is if you want the 4X USB 3.0 transmission rates. The "smart" cables are also supposed to allow for mixing current Thunderbolt implementations with fibre optic versions later on.
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post #48 of 60
1/9/12 at 1:28pm
I'm sorry to say that but people just don't get it, Thunderbolt isn't going to get the low cost adoption so many think of when they think of I/O ports. It is a high end solution and will be for a couple of years.

Beyond that why would anybody buy a TB hub that does not have any additional capability beyond spreading out a few ports? All such devices do is contribute to the sprawl on ones desk. As far as i'm concerned the only way TB devices will be acceptable is if they have a primary function that justifies some of the expense. By that I mean a display, disk array or other functionality that helps absorb some of TB's expense. More importantly such a device needs to control the proliferation of devices across the desk top.

In any event I'm still shocked that some many on this board don't get it along with so many accessory manufactures out there. We don't need a desktop that an octopus could love.
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post #49 of 60
1/9/12 at 2:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dlux View Post

Why does this take so long to release? Are they growing the aluminum from seed?

(And when September finally rolls around, the lack of USB 3 will seem pretty short-sighted.)

It looked short sighted LAST September when this thing was first introduced. All storage has moved to USB 3 already, even thumb drives. Other products, even those that can't take advantage of the extra speed, will make the switch as soon as component pricing equalizes so they don't appear to be left behind. When that happens Apple may have little choice but to make the switch too.

In the meantime somebody please make a Thunderbolt to USB 3.0 and eSATA converter. Oh and make sure that I can put my Mac to sleep without hosing the data on any storage device connected through your converter. I've lost data on way too many USB 2.0 drives by forgetting to eject them prior to sleep.
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post #50 of 60
1/9/12 at 2:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post

5) I am surprised they didn't go for USB 3.0 but I'm also surprised people are asking for eSATA. If TB is the replacement for any port interface type it's eSATA.

I already own devices with eSATA ports that I can't use; I'm forced to use USB 2. I already own other devices with USB 3.0 ports that I can only run at USB 2 speeds.

USB 3.0 and eSATA drives cost a small fraction more than bare internal drives. FireWire 800 has always carried a huge price premium and at this point in time anyone willing to pay a premium price is going to want tomorrow's interface not yesterday's.
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post #51 of 60
1/9/12 at 2:43pm
Unless Bekin slipped a decimal place, this product is the kiss of death for Thunderbolt. Did Apple/Intel get greedy on the licensing? Why so much $$$ for a hub?
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post #52 of 60
1/9/12 at 3:02pm
why does everything involving Thunderbolt also involve massive wait times?

And $300 for a hub is a nice bonus too...
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post #53 of 60
1/9/12 at 3:48pm
The picture here does appear to be wrong (or everyone else is, but I doubt that). This would be nice with USB 3.0. They would need to include OSX USB 3.0 drivers. These already exist as cards have been available for the Mac Pro for quite some time. For $299 they ought to provide something more.

Oh well, eventually thunderbolt will rationalize or die. You can buy computers with all the same ports -thunderbolt for less money. Neither picture is a particularly good or compact design. HDMI is a nice to have, but not terribly exciting feature. From the CNET article it appears this does not have a second port for daisy chaining. You would think with 18 months+ to build a hub, they could make a useful one.


I still think Thunderbolt is the best interface idea anyone had in a long time. I am not clear who is trying to destroy it.
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post #54 of 60
1/9/12 at 3:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lmac View Post

Unless Bekin slipped a decimal place, this product is the kiss of death for Thunderbolt. Did Apple/Intel get greedy on the licensing? Why so much $$$ for a hub?

  1. It's new.
  2. There aren't too many options on the market.
  3. These lack of options mean that the few that sell them can charge a premium and economy of scale hasn't yet kicked in for TB controllers.
  4. Just look at USB before it "took off".
  5. I remember looking at A USB3.0 external 2.5" HDD enclosure that was over $100. Seagate ha announced a $100 TB 2.5" enclosure.
  6. This is very similair to USB, not FireWire.
  7. This year or so under contract with Apple has actually been good for publicizing TB while giving other vendors a chance to integrate them into their products.
  8. Note that at least Acer will be using TB in some of their PCs.

Prices will drop. Remember that TB didn't even exist until the day Apple and Intel announced it to the world on Apple's MBPs less than a year ago. Before that it was LightPeak with no known release date and only rumours they would first come out with a cooper-based product. This tech is still so new that other vendors can still only design them, not sell them.

That doesn't mean TB won't fail, but I thin the chances are very slim.

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post #55 of 60
1/9/12 at 4:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Conrail View Post

Why not? A thin box with a single PCIe slot would give a huge boost to non-mac pro models, and would take no more room than an external hard drive.

http://www.sonnettech.com/product/th...olt/index.html

Sonnet Technologies is releasing a PCI express card enclosure that connects via thunderbolt.
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post #56 of 60
1/9/12 at 6:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ahmlco View Post

You say "just for a cable" as if it were a simple set of wires. it's not. Each cable has a chip at each end that tunes the cable for the best transmission rate.

Well that's kind of my point, if a cable costs that much don't expect the hub to be cheap. (I know full well what's inside the cable, but some folks hear seem to think this hub is just s simple box.)
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post #57 of 60
1/9/12 at 6:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Conrail View Post

Why not? A thin box with a single PCIe slot would give a huge boost to non-mac pro models, and would take no more room than an external hard drive.

Graphics is doable, but you're not going to get x16 performance. It will be x4 at best, and that's x4 of the original iteration of PCIe.

Quote:
Originally Posted by brlawyer View Post

And USB 2.0 will?

I don't see USB going away this year, at least in the form of HID devices. TB HID doesn't exist that I've heard, and Bluetooth can be clunky in my opinion. Heck, I have a lot of USB devices which I plan to keep using until they go bad or I really do need to upgrade them. Remove USB from computers is one thing, but expecting they be dropped from external adapters? That's wasteful and silly.
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post #58 of 60
1/9/12 at 8:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ahmlco View Post

The "smart" cables are also supposed to allow for mixing current Thunderbolt implementations with fibre optic versions later on.

Insert "later on" joke here. : )
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post #59 of 60
1/9/12 at 9:17pm
Any idea if gadget this will allow a Macbook Pro (late 2011) to drive two (non-apple) displays.

One via HDMI and the other through the Thunderbolt pass through via MiniDisplay Port to HDMI adapter?
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post #60 of 60
1/11/12 at 6:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

Again, this is a terrible design, one that makes the thing darn near unusable, and the price is extortion, period.

Quote:
Originally Posted by zindako View Post

I have to agree, it looks like an apple display stand, and the price ugh!!

I suspect they simply targeted the cinema display & tried to match it. The lack of USB 3, while an annoyance, isn't a deal breaker as unlike some of the other dock solutions coming out this one passes thunderbolt so a USB 3 hub could be added.

As for price, it does seem a bit hefty but if you consider bookendz was charging that much for a glorified port replicator I suspect Kensington will have no trouble selling them.
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