Thunderbolt compatible accessories unveiled at CES 2012
Despite Apple first introducing Thunderbolt with the MacBook Pro back in February 2011, compatible accessories have been slow to come to market. Hopefully, that’s all set to change though, with a number of big names showcasing Thunderbolt products at this week’s CES in Las Vegas.
So far we’ve heard about the following products from Belkin, Elgato, LaCie, OCZ, and Western Digital:
Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock
“The Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock enables Macbook and Ultrabook users to instantly access multiple desktop peripherals with one cable. The dock allows users to simultaneously connect to multiple USB devices, watch movies in Full HD 1080p, transfer volumes of data in seconds, and view online content at gigabit Ethernet speeds. The dock provides an easy transition from a desktop workstation to unrestricted mobile productivity.” – Press Release
The Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock will cost $299 when it launches in September.
Elgato Thunderbolt SSD
“The Elgato Thunderbolt™ SSD combines a fast and reliable solid-state drive with revolutionary Thunderbolt technology to form an ultra-portable solution that dramatically outperforms portable FireWire and USB drives. Housed in a robust metal enclosure, the high-speed drive draws its power directly through the Thunderbolt port without needing a separate power supply.” – Press Release
The Elgato Thunderbolt SSD will start from £349.95, and will be available in February.
LaCie eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series
“The eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series gives new life to existing eSATA drives with Thunderbolt innovation and backward compatibility. It connects to a late-model Mac via the Thunderbolt port and features two eSATA ports. This lets the user connect two eSATA external hard drives to the Hub and get full eSATA speeds on their new Mac.” – Press Release
The LaCie eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series will be available in the first quarter of 2012, pricing is unknown.
LaCie 2big Thunderbolt Series
“With speeds up to three times faster than FireWire 800, the LaCie 2big also features RAID security, hot-swappable disks, daisy chain convenience and a solid-aluminum casing. Heavy data users will appreciate capacities up to 8TB with jaw-dropping transfer rates up to 311MB/s. Daisy chaining multiple 2bigs even increases overall performance.” – Press Release
The LaCie 2big Thunderbolt Series will be available in the first quarter of 2012, pricing is unknown.
OCZ Lightfoot External SATA Hard Drive
“OCZ claims that the one of the benefits of moving to the Thunderbolt interconnect is improved latency and highly accurate time synchronization that will allow for professional audio and video work to be done directly on the drive.” – PC Perspective
Pricing and availability for the OCZ Lightfoot External SATA Hard Drive is unknown.
Western Digital My Book Thunderbolt Duo
“This is a drive that looks exactly like the My Book Studio II with one main difference: on the back it comes with two Thunderbolt ports and no other connection types.” – CNET
Pricing and availability for the Western Digital My Book Thunderbolt Duo is unknown.
What do you think of these new Thunderbolt accessories? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
