Sonnet Announces Echo Thunderbolt Dock – Connect Your Computer and Peripherals Together with One Cable

Sonnet’s Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock enables you to connect any computer with a Thunderbolt port to your peripherals through a single Thunderbolt cable, an especially handy ability for notebook users. Simply plug in your printer, keyboard, mouse, cable modem, headphones, speakers, microphone, and iPhone or iPod dock, and other devices to the Echo dock with their supplied cables, and connect your computer to the dock with a Thunderbolt cable. When it’s time to disconnect your computer, just unplug the Thunderbolt cable. The Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock gives you plenty of interfaces to choose from, including USB 3.0, eSATA, FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5 mm audio input, 3.5 mm audio output, and Thunderbolt.

Optical Drive Included

If you’ve purchased a new iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro with Retina Display, or one of many Ultrabook computers, you may have noticed something’s missing – an optical drive. Not to worry, the Echo 15 Thunderbolt dock has you coveredit includes your choice of DVDRW drive, or Blu-ray Disc player (BD-ROM/8x DVDRW). If you are a Mac user, you’ll also find that the included Blu-ray player software for OS X is very handy, enabling you to watch Blu-ray movies on your computer or attached monitor. Windows users will need to source the Blu-ray player software separately.

Space for More Storage

Sonnet designed the Echo 15 Thunderbolt dock with extra space, mounting hardware, and connectors for you to install a 2.5″ or 3.5″ SATA HDD (hard disk drive) or SSD (solid state drive). The fast 6 Gb/s SATA interface supports an HDD at its maximum speeds, and an SSD at up to 380 MB/s. Add a high-capacity drive to use as your Mac computer’s Time Machine drive, to back up your Mac or PC’s drive, or to store your ever growing media library. Or, you can add a high-performance SSD for blazing-fast access to applications and files. The drive sits inside the Echo dock, so you don’t have to clutter your desk space with an external hard drive and its power brick and cable clutter to add more storage. Don’t feel like adding a drive yourself? Sonnet also offers the Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock equipped with a 2TB HDD, available exclusively through the Sonnet online store.

Key Features
• Connects Your Peripherals with One CableConnect your peripherals to the Echo dock; connect your computer to and disconnect it from the dock using one Thunderbolt cable
• Provides Multiple InterfacesThunderbolt, USB 3.0, SATA and eSATA, FireWire 800, and Gigabit Ethernet
• Adds an Optical Drive to Your ComputerChoose between an 8x DVDRW drive or, optionally, a Blu-ray disc player (BD-ROM/8x DVDRW drive)
• Adds Blu-ray Movie Play Support for OS XWhen purchased with the Blu-ray drive option, Mac Blu-ray player software is included
• Supports Internal Hard Drive or SSD InstallationInstall a 2.5″ or 3.5″ 6 Gb/s SATA drive inside the dock
• Flexible DesignFront and rear USB 3.0 and audio ports, plus the ability to be placed horizontally or vertically, provide the dock great flexibility in use
• Wide Range of Display Connection OptionsSelect from a variety of inexpensive Mini DisplayPort to popular display interfaces such as HDMI, DVI, VGA and Dual-Link DVI
• Mac and Windows CompatibleSupports any computer with a Thunderbolt port running OS X 10.8.2+, Windows 8, or Windows 7

Flexible Design

Sonnet designed the Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock for maximum flexibility in use. The case may be set horizontally, or vertically to save space on the desktop. For your convenience, USB 3.0, audio input, and audio output ports are placed on both the front and back of the enclosure, so you can leave frequently used devices connected to the back, and connect devices you disconnect more often to the front. Dual Thunderbolt ports enable the Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock to support daisy chaining of Thunderbolt peripherals, and to be placed anywhere in a Thunderbolt device chain. You can even connect a Thunderbolt display, or other monitor type with an appropriate adapter, so you’re not limited to a single type of display interface. Depending on the display, you could even place it on top of the Echo dock! For your convenience, the Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock is Mac and Windows compatible.

Connecting a Display to the Dock

The Thunderbolt port on your computer is essentially a Mini DisplayPort video connection that adds high speed PCIe for data. This means that there is a broad range of inexpensive adapters (sold separately) that can bridge between Mini DisplayPort and common display interface types. Display interface types that can be connected to your Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock via Thunderbolt include:
• Thunderbolt Display Direct Connect
• Mini DisplayPort Direct Connect
• HDMI Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter
• DVI Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter
• VGA Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter
• Dual-Link DVI Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter

Sonnet Echo’s various configurations are priced from $399.95 to $549.95 and available for pre-order; to ship Summer 2013.

For more information, visit:
http://goo.gl/qKZUj