Mac users like myself have not been able to enjoy the benefits of USB 3.0 but those days are actually behind us. Hit the jump to see how you can get USB 3.0 on your Mac.
Generally, Mac users have been missing out on USB 3.0, instead, they have had Thunderbolt from the beginning of the new standard. Now that’s about to change, thanks to Belkin.
The company announced yesterday a new docking device called Thunderbolt Express Dock, model F4U055, which allows for adding three USB 3.0 ports to a Mac via the computer’s Thunderbolt port. In addition, it also offers one port of the following connection types: FireWire 800, Gigabit Eithernet, and eSATA, as well as one audio in and one audio out. Similar to most Thunderbolt devices, the dock comes with two Thunderbolt ports, enabling daisy chain setups with up two five other Thunderbolt devices.
Belkin says the new dock works with both PC and Mac computers that have the support for Thunderbolt. Intel and Asus released the first motherboards that support both Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 just last week, allowing enthusiasts to build Thunderbolt-enabled systems of their own before OEM systems with the support for this standard becoming available by the end of the year.
Other than the new dock, Belkin also announced a new Thunderbolt cable that’s shorter (3 feet) and cheaper ($45) than those made by Apple and recently Kanex, which are about 6-feet long and cost about $50.
The Thunderbolt Express Dock, however, is not cheap, and costs about $400. It will be available by September this year. The Thunderbolt cable, on the other hand, can be purchased next month.
