“More than a year after the debut of the Apple Thunderbolt Display, which incorporates a docking station function offering three USB ports, one Firewire 800 port, one Gigabit Ethernet port, and a second Thunderbolt port to enable daisy chaining, consumers are still looking for a similar product in a cheaper, standalone format that forgoes the expensive display included in the Apple product,” Eric Slivka reports for MacRumors.
“Belkin seemed to be the first third-party company to be preparing a standalone Thunderbolt docking station, showing off its prototype in September 2011 and soon after noting that it planned to launch the product in ‘spring 2012,'” Slivka reports. “In January of this year, Belkin revealed a redesigned docking station prototype, announcing that it would ship in September and be priced at $299. And by June, Belkin had revised its docking station again, adding HDMI and eSATA capabilities as well as upgrading to USB 3.0 ports, but also bumping the price to $399.99.”
Slivka reports, “At the time, Belkin was sticking to its launch timeframe of September 2012, but the company has since quietly updated its site and revised its June press release to quote a launch in the first quarter of 2013. The reasons for the delays are unclear… Belkin is not the only peripheral manufacturer looking to launch[and delaying] a Thunderbolt docking station…”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
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Belkin previews new Thunderbolt Express Dock at CES 2012 – January 9, 2012