Sonnet adds an ExpressCard/34 slot to Thunderbolt Macs

Sonnet's US$150 EchoExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter

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The flow of Thunderbolt peripherals onto the market definitely seems to be building steam with this latest example from Sonnet bringing expanded connectivity options to those with machines packing Apple's new I/O technology. Sonnet's US$150 EchoExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter uses a PCIe interface to link a range of existing peripherals such as USB 3.0, FireWire 800, eSATA, Gigabit Ethernet and high speed memory cards through a single Thunderbolt port.

Measuring 2.1" x 3.7" x .75" (53.4 x 94.2 x 19.2 mm), the EchoExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter requires Apple's Thunderbolt cable (which will set you back US$49) for connection to the Mac computer. From there, a range of ExpressCard/34 cards can be used (and hot-swapped) to get up to 5Gb/s transfer speeds from a variety of interfaces.

The full list of compatible adapters is available at the Sonnet site. The company also notes that it "expects other manufacturer's ExpressCard/34 products to become compatible as their drivers are updated to be Thunderbolt technology-aware."

Sonnet's EchoExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter is currently available for pre-order at US$149.95 with shipping slated to begin in October 2011.

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Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock pops-up at IDF 2011

Belkin's Thunderbolt Express Dock at IDC 2011 (Image: DailyTech)

Thunderbolt definitely seems to be gaining momentum with another peripheral for the high-speed interface rearing its head. Spotted by DailyTech at this week's 2011 Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco, the Thunderbolt Express Dock from Belkin connects with a Thunderbolt-equipped Mac to provide the same docking station capabilities found on Apple's recently announced Apple Thunderbolt Display (but without the 27-inch monitor).

The Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock was displayed behind glass alongside other Thunderbolt devices, including the Blackmagic Intensity Extreme and Promise Pegasus R4 RAID, with no info other than the name of the device. As a result there are no specific details on it at the moment other than what can be gleaned by its appearance.

As is the trend for most of the Thunderbolt peripherals popping up, the dock looks to be fashioned from Mac-matching aluminum - or aluminum-look plastic - and sports three USB ports - presumably USB 2.0, a FireWire port (hopefully FireWire 800) , a Gigabit Ethernet port, and a second, front-facing Thunderbolt port for daisy-chaining other Thunderbolt devices.

With no official word from Belkin on the device as yet it's unclear when the Thunderbolt Express Dock will be available and how much it will cost.

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