Been wondering what to do with that fancy new Thunderbolt port? We can't say that the options are vast just yet, but Intel is showing off at least a few here at IDF. The first is the Belkin Thunderbolt Express dock, which has three USB ports, FireWire, Ethernet, and another Thunderbolt port. Next is one of the more interesting storage options (among many), our first look at Seagate's GoFlex Thunderbolt adapter. The GoFlex system is designed to allow users to pick their connection options and Seagate has been teasing Thunderbolt for some time -- what they didn't tease is that it would come in the form of a bulky sled.
Storage and docks are one thing, but we're more excited by the possibility of adding full PCI-E cards to our Thunderbolt-enabled computers. Both Sonnet and Magma had already announced they're be offering boxes that would accept graphics cards and gigabit ethernet cards, but this is the first time we've seen them out in the open (so to speak). The idea, similar to Sony's Vaio Z, is that you can get desktop-style expansion on an itty bitty laptop. We're still not entirely enamored of the new port, but at least Intel is throwing a little weight behind the new standard by displaying these accessories here.
Find a gallery of pictures below.
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