What is Thunderbolt?
by Jazmin Hupp, Tekserve Staff
Thunderbolt is a new port released by Apple & Intel in early 2011. Previously, most ports allowed data to be transferred (FireWire, USB) or an external display to be attached to your computer (DVI, VGA, DisplayPort, HDMI); Thunderbolt combines both technologies into one super-fast port.
Once peripheral manufacturers catch-up, you'll be able to attach a display, multiple external hard drives, and many other devices you would have used FireWire, USB, or DisplayPort for before.
Also released in early 2011, was the HTC ThunderBolt SmartPhone. One of the first phones on Verizon's 4G LTE network. Check it out at Tekserve.
Displays
Thunderbolt currently supports connecting the following types of displays: DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, and VGA. Pick up a Mini DisplayPort adapter to connect a DVI, HDMI, or VGA display for about $30. I've been traveling with the Griffin Video Display Converter, which works with HDMI and DVI displays for the same cost as single adapter.
The first MacBook Pro released with Thunderbolt allows you to drive one external display but we're waiting to see how many displays future Macs will support (we suspect it'll be 2 or more).
Devices can be daisy-chained (similar to FireWire) to attach multiple devices and a display to a single Thunderbolt port.
Data Storage Devices / External Hard Drives
This is where you'll notice the super-fast transfer speeds of Thunderbolt. Once high-speed storage solutions for Thunderbolt are released you'll be able to transfer a 15GB full-length HD movie in less than 30 seconds. Professional users will soon be able to purchase super-fast RAID drives or run multiple drives that can work at full speed for video and audio editing.
More Charging Power Too
The Thunderbolt port carries 10 watts of power, perfect for faster charging of your devices as well as not having to plug in some future devices at all. USB 2.0 only carried 2.5 watts of power, which Apple boosted to 5.5 watts, but it still wasn't enough for many high-powered devices. We expect manufacturers to be coming out with new devices that don't need to be plugged into the wall soon.
More Information
- Tidbits: http://www.tidbits.com/article/11993
- Apple: http://www.apple.com/thunderbolt/
- Intel: http://www.intel.com/technology/io/thunderbolt/index.htm
Published February 25, 2011 11:27 AM
Last modified on March 23, 2011 10:25 AM
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