Hasta La Gadget!

Tablets and ultrabooks are nice because, if for no other reason, of their sheer portability. With that portability comes some trade-offs, however, primarily in how effective they are as a day-in, day-out workstation device for the home or office. That is where docking stations come in, of which Belkin has just announced two – one for tablets, the other for ultrabooks. Both offer dual-video for multiple monitors, as well as a host of ports.

Officially called the Dual Video Docking Stand for Windows 8 tablets and the Dual Video Docking Stand for Ultrabooks, both utilize DisplayLink and a USB 3.0 plug-and-play cable. Belkin is aiming the docking stations at just about anyone who needs to turn their tablet or ultrabook into a workstation, with the company specifically mentioning contractors, professionals, and hot-desk environments.

The Dual Video docking stations – both varieties – offer several peripheral ports, allowing users to connect all of their items to the station itself while having the ultrabook or tablet only being tethered by a simple-to-remove-and-replace USB cable. There are slots for a printer, keyboard, Ethernet, additional USB ports, display ports, and more.

In addition, because having so many devices connected to a central station on your desktop can cause clutter, it also has integrated cable management. The tablet version of the docking station supports all slates running Windows 8 with Atom and Intel core-i processors. The ultrabook docking station, meanwhile, supports Windows XP through Windows 8. Be advised, however, that neither support devices running Windows RT.

There’s no word on pricing or availability yet.

Mobile Trax’ Principal Analyst J. Gerry Purdy, Ph.D., said: “Greater mobility and the need for an improved user experience are increasingly important to organizations that care about worker productivity and its impact on overall efficiency. Belkin has developed an interesting set of docking stands that really optimize the functionality of Ultrabooks, and particularly Windows 8 Tablets, in the business environment. This is a great step forward for mobile computing at the enterprise level.”

Belkin’s dual-video docking stations turn ultrabooks and tablets into workstations is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Thunderbolt, you were a tech with near unlimited promise when first introduced, but what have you done with all that power? Since my first Thunderbolt-equipped Mac, I’ve essentially been using the ports as straight up Mini DisplayPort replacements, and using them exclusively for powering external screens. But now the Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock has arrived, and Thunderbolt finally makes sense. Pricey, $300 sense, mind you.

• 2 Thunderbolt ports, with daisy-chain capabilities to connect up to 5 additional Thunderbolt devices.
• Gigabit Ethernet port
• 3 USB 3.0 ports
• 1 FireWire 800 port
• 3.5mm headphone output and mic in ports

The Belkin Thunderbolt dock’s design is understated, and will fit with the rest of your black and aluminum standard Mac kit. It’s basically just a box with rounded edges, a cable management channel running through the middle underside of the device, and a row of ports at the back, but it works and it can tuck nicely under your MacBook if you’re using a desktop stand, or underneath the screen of your iMac. There’s even a pair of flashing indicators for network traffic on the Ethernet port, which makes me nostalgic for the days of desktop PC towers that told you everything you needed to know with just a series of blinking lights.

If anything it’s a little bulky, but considering everything it’s bringing to the table, that’s not really all that surprising. Note that this also requires an AC adapter to work, so you’ll have to clear up space on your office power bar.

Computer makers don’t tend to be looking for more ways to fit extra ports in their hardware designs, and the Retina MacBook Pro and MacBook Air lines are perfect examples of where things are headed. As a result, I find myself with only two USB ports on an $1,800 computer, no Ethernet port, a single input for both mic and headphones, and no Firewire 800 for my legacy devices, like portable hard drives. The Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock fixes all those things.

The three USB 3.0 ports are possibly the best part of the arrangement, as they more than double to total load-out of USB ports on your average lightning-equipped MacBook Pro. Even with an iMac, you get 7 USB ports total instead of just three, turning it into a dream machine for someone like a video, design or audio professional who probably has tons of accessories they need to connect and/or switch out at any given time. The first time you don’t have to decide which crucial USB accessory to unplug in order to charge your iPhone, the Dock proves its worth.

The Thunderbolt daisy-chaining also means I can still attach my 27-inch iMac as an external monitor, though that means the chain ends there. But if I had a Thunderbolt drive with two ports, I can easily slot that in between the two, and still use the display as the terminal end of the chain. Finally, the return of Firewire 800 and the Ethernet provide some much-needed tools for using more old-school, but still very effective technologies, including the various Firewire 800 external drives I have sitting around.

All of these ports and additional bits worked flawlessly in my experience, and the headphone jack actually seems to operate as an external sound card to some degree, boosting volume levels and giving you more flexibility in terms of playback options.

If you ever feel like your Mac doesn’t have enough hardware input/output options, then the Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock is for you. It took long enough to get here, and it’s pretty expensive at $299 (plus the price of Thunderbolt cable, which ships separately). The Matrox DS1 is another option at $249, but it only has one Thunderbolt port and just one USB 3.0, though it adds both an HDMI and DVI-D output. For my money, the Belkin is the way to go, especially if you use your Mac as your main workstation.

We caught a glimpse of the Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock at CES 2012, and since then, the company has run the product through a redesign to make it appear a lot slimmer while also adding USB 3.0 ports to it. After much waiting, it looks like Belkin is finally ready to set its Thunderbolt Express Dock into the world as it’s now available to purchase.

As you probably already know, the Thunderbolt Express Dock comes with dual Thunderbolt ports with support of up to five Thunderbolt-supported devices, FireWire 800, Ethernet, a 3.5mm audio input and output and three USB 3.0 ports. Unfortunately, the eSATA and Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter didn’t make it into the final product, although seeing how its now priced at $299.99 instead of its original price of $399.99, we’re sure many of you could certainly overlook those omissions. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: April 2013 Canon 5D Mark III Firmware Update Released, Melting Machine Gives Out Free 7Ups,

Remember the Belkin Thunderbolt Express dock that we first laid our peepers on back at CES 2012? Well, the device that looks to lend a hand to your desktop setup is now available. After upgrading the unit back in the summer of 2012, pre-orders went live in February with a ship date expected shortly thereafter. No word on the cause of the delay, but the $299 dock still offers dual Thunderbolt ports for daisy-chaining up to five gadgets, FireWire 800, Ethernet, and both 3.5mm audio input and output. If the wait hasn’t swayed your interest, grab one immediately via the source link below, and in stores before the end of May.

Filed under: Peripherals

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Source: Belkin

Keyboard cases for iPad are many and multiplying, but at this point it’s a question of refining the best concepts, not creating dramatically different devices. The Belkin Ultimate Keyboard Case for iPad is a great example, taking a lot of cues from the massively popular Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad and folio style designs to create a solution that might be as near as perfect as tablet typers can get.

• Keyboard is 6.4mm thin
• 160 hours battery life
• Magnets for secure closure and three viewing angles
• MSRP: $99.99
• Product info page

The Ultimate Keyboard Case is not small, but it isn’t big either. It avoids feeling anywhere near as bulky as a total hardcase like the Brydge, but don’t expect something with the low profile of Apple’s Smart Cover, for instance. But it sill manages to be just about as low-profile as the Logitech Ultrathin, and it has a few extra tricks up its sleeve, including a protective cover for the back of your iPad, three possible viewing angles for your device, and a sound port built into the case that redirects the iPad’s speaker output for better listening.

The materials feel top-quality, it weighs only 411 grams (slightly more than the Ultrathin’s 355 grams) and its keyboard layout feels natural and won’t impede your touch typing abilities. The design of the keyboard component and faux leather hinge means that you can use it with the keyboard folded back in behind, without keys awkwardly facing outward where you can accidentally hit them with your fingers, as is often the case with folio designs.

As mentioned, the Belkin Ultimate Keyboard Case is great to type on, with one small quibble: the recessed design of the keys means that it can be awkward to hit the space bar, since your thumb will also brush up against the base of the case itself. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it does annoy when you’re coming from a standard notebook or desktop keyboard. But the dedicated keys, including a microphone key that brings up Siri on later generation iPads or voice dictation on earlier ones, as well as the convenience factor outweigh any downsides.

The Ultimate Keyboard’s other big feature is its use of magnets to allow for three different viewing angles. It’s a nice trick, and one that works well. The one limitation here is that if you’re trying to type in an unstable setting, say on a very bumpy car or train ride, the magnets can actually become dislodged. As long as you’re using the Belkin on a flat surface and you aren’t on Safari, however, the magnets do their job and offer a bit of flexibility vs. the Logitech Ultrathin.

I feel like we may be reaching peak keyboard case, especially for the standard-sized iPad. But Belkin’s Ultimate Keyboard Case, though somewhat late to the party, shows that there’s still some depth left to be plumbed in terms of wringing innovation out of the overcrowded space. At $99.99, it’s not cheap, but if you’re looking for a way to make your iPad a much more capable text-entry machine, while still offering full protection for your iPad itself, this is a good option.