With the Thunderbolt market expanding as more and more enabled equipment comes online, LaCie have announced details of their latest Thunderbolt series and are proud to boast the largest selection of Thunderbolt storage options. LaCie now offer five drives that are compatible with Mac OS X and Windows 7 and 8 computers. We have been taking a look at the new range from LaCie, from the compact Rugged USB 3.0 to the impressive LaCie 5big, and there is certainly something for everyone in the range.

The LaCie Rugged USB is a seriously tough bit of kit condensed into a portable and robust housing. Available in 3 memory sizes of 120GB (SSD), 256GB (SSD) and 1TB, prices range from $199 to $229 for the larger option, and all include a Thunderbolt cable. The vibrant orange casing is designed to withstand everyday knocks and clumsy drops, and is intended to be accident resistant to protect valuable data. With universal connectivity for Thunderbolt and USB 3.0, this hard drive is truly compatible with all computers and allows easy transfer between devices. The write speeds are mightily impressive with LaCie offering awesome data transfer of up to 385MB/s.

At the other end of the scale we have the chunky LaCie 5big available with a choice of capacity of 10/20TB, enough capability for the biggest of ventures. Constructed from solid aluminium, the unit not only looks fantastic but cleverly dissipates heat away from the drive too. Heat is also cleared from the unit using the super quiet internal Noctua fan and integral jumbo exhausts, meaning near silent continual use is possible. With Dual Thunderbolt ports for daisy chaining and RAID 0, 1 and JBOD support with hot swap and LaCie’s demonstrated consistency the 5big is ideal to harmonize with a Thunderbolt professional computer. Capable of speeds up to 785MB/s, the 10TB 5big is available at $1,199 whilst the 20TB retails at $2,199.

To view more information on these drives or to see more of the new Thunderbolt series visit the LaCie website, and feel free to let us know which LaCie hard drive you would opt for. It is worth noting the larger drives are intended more for the professional market as the jaw dropping prices indicate!

The Apple Thunderbolt Display was first introduced in July 2011 and in that time has proved very popular, but those who wish to purchase one from third-party resellers might have a tough task ahead becasue stock is running low. While you can still get these display from Apple stores, we can’t help wonder if a new 2013 Apple Thunderbolt display will be released in the not too distant future?

Whenever Apple products get low on stock it’s a good indication that a refresh is on the way, but it might not be as simple as that with the Thunderbolt display. It’s almost certain that if a refresh was coming soon then the new design would be very similar to that of the new iMac with its very thin design. However, because the lamination process for the 27-inch iMac has caused a shortage in production and according to a report will not be rectified until next month, this could dictate how long we will have to wait for the 2013 Apple Thunderbolt display refresh.

It’s not just the thin display that could change because many people expect Apple to include USB 3.0 and MagSafe 2 ports onto the Thunderbolt display update. We’ve heard in the past from consumers that they would like to see a return to the matte display because they hate the current crop of displays that give a mirror kind of effect, but do you think this would be a step back?

The 2013 Thunderbolt display price from Apple is also a topic of interest because the current model costs a staggering $999. However, depending who you ask they will say that just under $1000 isn’t a lot for a display that offers the same kind of screen quality, as well as the number of ports you get as well. Having said that, if Apple were to update those ports mentioned above and also offer HDMI support as well then the 2013 update should prove popular.

Back in 2011 Apple released a new connection type called the Thunderbolt, which meant that those who purchased a new device with this faster connection would need to purchase the cable that supports it. Back then the price was $49 so you’ll be glad to know that the 2.0 m Thunderbolt cable has been given a price cut.

Apple has also released a shorter version of the Thunderbolt cable, this one is just 0.5 m (20 inches) in size and will cost $29, which for some is still on the expensive side – but we don’t expect anything less from Apple. Having said that as with all new products you have to pay a premium until it becomes the standard and this $10 price cut is certainly a step in the right direction.

While the Thunderbolt cable has seen a price reduction we’d love to see Apple reduce the price of Thunderbolt hard drives that they have on their store, as this high price has been putting me off purchasing one for some time now. However, when you consider how much some people will benefit from the faster data transfer speeds, many will believe that it’s a cost they are willing to pay for.

Why has Apple reduced the price of the longer Thunderbolt cable? The obvious reason would have to be because USB 3.0 is getting faster and will be more widely used, along with the fact that the devices you can connect them to are going to be cheaper as well, such as storage devices.

Having upgraded our office iMacs with something new after each refresh, the new 2012 iMac has a release date in Nov, you might now realize a new Thunderbolt hard drive is well deserved after more options are starting to appear. When it comes to Western Digital they have some nice 2TB to 6TB Thunderbolt hard drive, which include the impressive My Book VelociRaptor Duo external drive that features an impressive twin configuration of 10,000RPM hard drives.

If you follow the new releases from Western Digital then you might remember the My Book Thunderbolt Duo external hard drives from Spring, which were impressive but nothing like the current offering in the form of VelociRaptor’s 10,000RPM drives. The product that launched this past spring only included 7,200RPM drives, and the new faster option is said to compete with the speed of SSDs.

On paper you’ll notice WD’s My Book VelociRaptor Duo has a 380MB/S write speed and 400MB/S read speed, although when you take into account the Thunderbolt ports and daisy-chain possibilities you can achieve much faster performance.

SSD vs. WD My Book VelociRaptor Duo on price – it is worth noting that Western Digital’s external drives are supported by Mac OS X as a bootable device, and on larger storage options it is fair to say that WD drives are currently cheaper per GB when compared to large SSDs. If you can gain the same performance with the correct configuration, or at least similar, then this is something well worth considering.

The My Book VelociRaptor Duo will be around double the price (over $800) of My Book Thunderbolt Duo drives, although this is certainly made up in performance but this is a choice you’d need to make that depends on what you need to achieve. You can see an official product demo in the first video below, and also an unboxing of the My Book VelociRaptor Duo in the second video, and a quick look at the speed in the third video. The official product page can be seen here, which includes full specs and features.

Bottom-line: Western Digital still claims there’s a market for hybrid drives even with the SSD cost lowering month-on-month, but we can’t help but expect a time to come very soon that SSD will be a cheaper option with at least equal performance. At this time Western Digital are doing pretty good and recently announced double the profits to $519m, so it will be interesting to see what WD’s strategy will be as SSDs drop even further in price.

Apple is well known for its innovative stance on all products across the technology world, but with the Thunderbolt Display they really have gone the extra distance in designing something that could blow USB straight out of the water.

Standing upright with a 16:9 display and 178 degree viewing angle, nothing bad can be said about the display itself. But the ports are where the real magic lies. You can think of the display more as a Thunderbolt hub than anything else. It has a standard three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, one Gigabit Ethernet port and an additional Thunderbolt port that will allow the use of daisy chaining five additional Thunderbolt devices. In general, this means that you can connect your new MacBook Air, Mac Mini, or any other Thunderbolt enabled Mac, and then chain other devices on to these that support the Thunderbolt port such as external HDD’s.

Going back to the display briefly, the Thunderbolt Display also houses a built-in FaceTime HD camera, 2.1 speaker system and an integrated MagSafe charger for simple Mac notebook charging. In terms of tech specs you get a 27-inch diagonal, support for resolutions up to 2560 x 1440, a contrast ratio of 1000:1 and 16.7 million colors other specifications can be seen here, we were particularly impressed by its friendliness to the environment and small footprint.

In case you haven’t heard of Thunderbolt yet, think of it more as an extension to what you already have. It adds more functionality, more ports, and at 10Gbps of Thunderbolt data that passes through two channels within the same connector both ways, it’s easy to understand why this could be the connector of choice for the future.

But lets talk about the price. The Thunderbolt display will cost $999 MSRP, so it’s not cheap in any sense of the word. And to use it, you will also have to grab yourself a new Thunderbolt-enabled Mac which will also burn a few holes in your wallet.

Apple say that the device will be made available to the public “within the next 60 days,” so if you are thinking of a couple of early Christmas gadgets, this could be right up your street.

You can find out more information about the Apple Thunderbolt Display via their official Thunderbolt Display website. You can also check it out on their Apple Store.

So, you’ve had a look at Apple’s next innovative technology but how do you think it will do? Are you impressed? Would you buy one?

The new interface will be used for more than just connecting hard drives, but we will take what is handed to us for now. The likes of Lacie, Seagate and Promise Pegasus all have products to go with these Apple devices, which will offer unparalleled speed and transfer rates.

The first hard drive on our list is the LaCie Little Big Disk; this is the first in a long line of upcoming storage devices from the brand to offer Thunderbolt support. You will be able to transfer music, photos and files at 10Gb/s, and you have the ability to daisy-chain up to 6 peripherals. This particular model has been designed by Neil Poulton and sports an aluminum design. Lacie.com has more on this.

Seagate is the worry here, as we assumed that they would offer Thunderbolt support, but they have let us down. However, they do have an adaptor that will connect a GoFlex Ultra-portable Drive to allow you to connect it to your new Mac We just hope that Seagate release a hard drive with full Thunderbolt support soon, or their rivals will leave them behind with this latest technology.

On the Apple Store you will see four Promise Pegasus RAID systems. The first is the Promise Pegasus R4 4TB and comes at a cost of just $999. Next is the Promise Pegasus R4 8TB, this will set you back $1499. The Promise Pegasus R6 6TB will also cost you the same price. Finally we have the Promise Pegasus R6 12TB, but you will need to brace yourself, as you will have to part with $1999 in order to get your hands on this RAID system.

To connect these to your Mac with Thunderbolt support you will need to purchase the Apple Thunderbolt cable, which will cost $49. Like we said accessories are still a little scarce, but there is now the 27-inch Apple Thunderbolt Display. The price of this is $999, but for $700 you can have a 27-inch iMac.

HTC do not do many slide-out QWERTY keyboards, so those who stick with this Smartphone for that very reason will be happy to learn of this update. Owners have had to be very patient, so you could understand why they would get upset with Thunderbolt user’s moaning about something that they have been waiting on for quite some time.

The Gingerbread update for the Desire Z is not ready yet, but ITProPortal reports that it is the final stages of testing. The OTA updates are expected to begin in the coming weeks, so not long to wait. In the meantime, if you know anyone with a Thunderbolt device – now is the time to start annoying the hell out of him or her.

We cannot say for certain which version of Gingerbread UK customers will be getting, but the smart money will be on version 2.3.4. However, one has to assume that the Desire Z is nearing the end of its lifecycle, as most other 2010 handsets have since been updated. Looking at the specs we can see that one is needed soon, although there are still a few Android phones coming to market that are still unable to compete – well mid-range anyway

The specs are as follows: single-core 800MHz processor, 1.5GB of internal storage, 512MB of RAM, 5-megapixel camera and a 3.7-inch screen. Now we would not expect a huge spec bump, as this is seen as a low-priority handset. If we had to make an assumption as to what the specs will be in the newer version, then we would guess a single-core 1.5GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. We would not expect a megapixel increase, but maybe an improved lens. Apart from that it is a little hard to say.

Having said that, the update to Gingerbread will give the Desire Z a new lease of life, and could extend its life by a few more months at least. How do you Thunderbolt owners feel that you have missed out yet again, even the Droid Incredible 2 now has the update?

Today we have news of a new flash drive being shown off by Kingston. Kingston is well known for their low cost high speed devices. Its new USB 3.0 input device is the quickest one it’s released to date. It, like most USB 3.0 devices is also backwards compatible which means it will work with slower USB ports.

It’s called the DTU30G2 or its more dramatic name is DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 Generation 2, which even from the name suggest it’s something special. It comes in three storage sizes 64GB, 32GB and 16GB, has a write speed of up to 70MB/s and read speed of up to 100MB/s.

Despite Kingston’s reputation, the device starts at $77 for the 16GB version and goes up to $213 for the 64GB. If you would like to know more about the new flash drive, head on over to Kingston.com where you will find a full list of specs.

Are you impressed by this new device’s speeds?

The Thunderbolt port is welcomed with open arms, even if the accessories that support the higher data transfers are all but non-existent. New Radeon graphics from AMD are said to be up to 3x faster in the bigger MacBook Pro models, games and HD video projects should be a breeze anywhere.

Being able to use FaceTime in high definition on the new MacBook pro is amazing, and helps connect friends and family almost anywhere. Let’s hear some ideas you have on how you would change the new MacBook Pro, maybe a Blu-ray drive should’ve been added, or USB 3.0 support. Let us know.

So firstly we have the new CPUs, there is the Intel Core 5 as standard, but if you want something with more punch, then the Core i7 processors are just what you need, as it can be upgraded to the 3.4GHz version. The response from these processors is both fast and smooth, and works like a dream with the new graphics cards.

These new GPUs are the latest that AMD Radeon has to offer, with three models to choose from; AMD Radeon HD 6750M, 6770M and the 6970M. Never before has an iMac felt at home playing games. But for those who are into design, then the power of the GPU and the CPU working together will blow your mind.

Apple is always ones for firsts, and the 2011 iMac is no different. This is the first desktop to offer Thunderbolt I/O technology. When used with a compatible device transfer rates will be far greater than anything you have ever used before. However, this port can also be used for connecting HDMI and VGA.

FaceTime HD Camera is also another new feature, which makes video calling more of a dream than a nightmare thanks to its crisp clear image. There are more updates for the 2011 iMac, so visit Apple for more details.

Are the Apple iMac 2011 changes worth replacing your current mode forl?