CES 2012: LaCie Hub Connects eSATA Drives to Thunderbolt Macs

lacieCNet reports on a new eSATA Hub from LaCie which allows you to connect external eSATA drives to your Thunderbolt equipped Mac.

The hub comes with two Thunderbolt ports and two eSATA ports. Users can connect up to two eSATA drives to the hub for use on their Thunderbolt equipped Macs. The additional Thunderbolt ports can also be used to daisy chain additional Thunderbolt peripherals off the device.

eSATA is a high performance drive connector used to connect external hard drives to your computer. eSATA has never been a standard option on Macs, but is a faster alternative to USB 2.0 and Firewire and is commonly found on high performance external drives and storage arrays. As noted by CNet, eSATA devices are also presently cheaper than their Thunderbolt counterparts. While Thunderbolt has a higher maximum speed than eSATA, if you are just connecting a single external drive (and not a drive array), it's not likely to exceed the upper limit of eSATA.

So, for those who are have existing eSATA drives or are waiting for Thunderbolt drives to drop in price, this could be a good interim solution. Unfortunately, LaCie hasn't released a price yet, but this eSATA hub is expected to be available during the first quarter of 2012.

Popular Stories

Alleged iOS 19 Icons Front Page Tech

iOS 19 Leak Reveals Alleged New Design With Rounder App Icons, Floating Tab Bar, and More

Monday April 7, 2025 3:13 pm PDT by
YouTube channel Front Page Tech is back today with another video that provides a closer look at iOS 19's alleged design changes. The video contains re-created renders of iOS 19, which are allegedly based on real footage of the software update, provided by sources within Apple. Overall, iOS 19 is expected to have a more glass-like, visionOS-inspired design, with added translucency for user...
iOS 18 Siri Personal Context

Report Reveals Internal Chaos Behind Apple's Siri Failure

Thursday April 10, 2025 7:15 am PDT by
A new report from The Information today reveals much of the internal turmoil behind Apple Intelligence's revamped version of Siri. Apple apparently weighed up multiple options for the backend of Apple Intelligence. One initial idea was to build both small and large language models, dubbed "Mini Mouse" and "Mighty Mouse," to run locally on iPhones and in the cloud, respectively. Siri's...
iPhone 17 Pro 3 4ths Perspective Aluminum Camera Module 1

iPhone 17 Pro's New Rear Camera Bar 'Same Color As Rest of Device'

Monday April 7, 2025 2:09 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro models will feature a redesigned rear camera panel that spans the width of the device, but it will be the same color as the iPhone itself, rather than being part of a two-tone design. That's according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, the reporter says the iPhone 17 Pro won't have a two-toned back, as some renders have...
iPhone 17 Pro 3 4ths Perspective Aluminum Camera Module 1

5 Biggest Changes Rumored for iPhone 17 Pro

Tuesday April 8, 2025 2:38 am PDT by
Later this year, Apple will introduce the iPhone 17 series, which includes the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone 17 Pro Max, two new high-end flagship devices that will be sold alongside the regular iPhone 17 and an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air. If you have been holding out for the iPhone 17 Pro or its bigger sibling, here are five of the biggest changes, informed by the latest reports and...
iPhone Assembly

Trump Believes Apple Could Manufacture iPhones in the U.S.

Tuesday April 8, 2025 12:08 pm PDT by
U.S. President Donald Trump "absolutely" believes that Apple could manufacture its iPhones and other devices in the United States, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said today during a media briefing. Leavitt was asked whether Trump thought that iPhone manufacturing is the kind of technology that could move to the U.S. "Absolutely, he believes we have the labor, we have the workforce, we have ...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

Waiting for the Perfect MacBook Pro? 2026 Might Be the Year

Thursday April 10, 2025 4:19 am PDT by
Apple in October 2024 overhauled its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display changes, and more. That's quite a lot of updates in one go, but if you think this means a further major refresh for the MacBook Pro is now several years away, think again. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said he expects only a small...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4.1 Update Coming Soon for iPhones

Wednesday April 9, 2025 8:56 am PDT by
Apple employees are testing iOS 18.4.1 for iPhones, according to the MacRumors visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The software update will likely be released in a week or two, if not sooner. As the version number implies, iOS 18.4.1 will obviously be a minor update that addresses software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. There are no...
Apple Northbrook

Apple Store in Chicago Area Permanently Closing Later This Month

Wednesday April 9, 2025 9:56 am PDT by
Apple will be permanently closing its store at the Northbrook Court shopping mall in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook on April 26, the company has announced. Apple has added the following notice to the store's web page:Thank you Northbook. Apple Northbrook is closing on April 26 at 7pm. We're still here for you. Please visit apple.com/retail to find your nearest store.Apple Northbrook opened ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

All the Design Changes Rumored for iOS 19 So Far

Tuesday April 8, 2025 2:04 pm PDT by
Apple is going to unveil iOS 19 in just about two months at its June WWDC event, and rumors suggest that it's going to bring a big change to the iPhone's design. It's been described as the most notable design overhaul since iOS 7, so it should be an exciting update. We've rounded up everything we've heard so far about the design changes coming to iOS 19. visionOS-like design with...

Top Rated Comments

tonydickinson Avatar
173 months ago
LacCie

So many issues with LaCie devices and the customer support or lack of it and of course their very inflated prices.

I will wait and see what Belkin come up with as although their prototype looked strange, they are usually of reasonable quality and with much better customer service that Lacie.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nielsenius Avatar
173 months ago
Don't worry, all of these accessories will be competitively priced. Of course, there is no competition at the moment, so...
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ahheck01 Avatar
173 months ago
That's great, but what about a hub to connect USB 3.0 devices to Thunderbolt?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
appleguru1 Avatar
173 months ago
Thunderbolt has been the most botched tech launch I can think of in recent memory. A year out and we still dont have basic products like this on the market... And devices are way overpriced.

My esata hdd drives have been sitting unused since launch day of this thunderbolt mbp... Here's to hoping that finally changes soon..
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mrr Avatar
173 months ago
Please someone in China jump on the Thunderbolt bandwagon - so that we won't have to play inflated LaCie prices!

I can get Chinese eSATA and USB 3.0 drive enclosures on sale for FREE after rebate at Frys!

Bring on the cheap Thunderbolt drive enclosures !
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
InuNacho Avatar
173 months ago
So many issues with LaCie devices and the customer support or lack of it and of course their very inflated prices.

I have a 1 TB external made by LaCie and I fear it's nearing death's door even though it's less than a year old. The Thailand flooding ruined any chances of me getting a more reliable drive so now I'm stuck with a drive that will most likely croak in a few months time.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)