CES 2013: Belkin Drops eSATA Support for Upcoming Thunderbolt Express Dock, Cuts Price Back to $299

Way back in September 2011, Belkin quietly showed off a prototype of its Thunderbolt Express Dock, a desktop docking station offering users a broad array of connectivity options through a single Thunderbolt cable. By CES 2012, the product had evolved in design and received a September 2012 launch date with a $299 price tag.

By June of last year, Belkin had decided to add USB 3.0 and eSATA capabilities, at the cost of $100 price increase to $399.99. But as the September launch window came and went, Belkin pushed back the launch date to the first quarter of 2013.

belkin thunderbolt express 2013 1
With CES 2013 now underway, Belkin has officially announced further changes to the Thunderbolt Express Dock, removing eSATA compatibility and dropping the price back to $299.99. Belkin is still quoting a "Q1 2013" launch, and Belkin representatives have told us that it should be closer to the early part of the quarter.

- Instant access to up to 8 desktop devices with one cable
- Cable-clutter-free design for a cleaner workstation
- 3 USB 3.0 ports
- 1 FireWire 800 port
- 1 Gigabit Ethernet port
- 1 3.5mm-out port
- 1 3.5mm-in port
- 2 Thunderbolt ports (1 upstream, 1 downstream for daisy-chaining up to 5 additional Thunderbolt devices)

belkin thunderbolt express 2013 2
Belkin's Thunderbolt Express Dock can be compared to the DS1 from Matrox, which launched last month for $249. For an additional $50 compared to the DS1, the Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock offers three USB 3.0 ports as opposed to a single USB 3.0 port and two USB 2.0 ports on the DS1.

Perhaps more importantly for some users, the Belkin dock also includes two Thunderbolt ports, allowing the device to support Thunderbolt passthrough for peripherals further down the chain. Matrox's DS1 offers only a single Thunderbolt port, meaning that it must be placed at the end of a chain.

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Top Rated Comments

Trik Avatar
161 months ago
Seriously... I'll be playing a new Duke Nukem before I see this thing...
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)
akm3 Avatar
161 months ago
I can't believe this has been so hard for manufacturers. Tbolt is going to be dead if they can't even get these basic devices out. (If it isn't dead already)

How did Apple have the Tbolt display out so quickly by comparison??
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BJB Productions Avatar
161 months ago
Coming to a store near you ..... next year...ish.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Drag'nGT Avatar
161 months ago
I just want a $50 thunderbolt enclosure. You can't make a product/accessory popular with ridiculous pricing this far after it's launch.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Heilage Avatar
161 months ago
Wasn't this announced like... a year ago?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cambox Avatar
161 months ago
They almost got it right but without eSATA its a no go for most professional users who use eSATA as we all have that pretty much.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)