CES 2012: LaCie Hub Connects eSATA Drives to Thunderbolt Macs
CNet reports on a new eSATA Hub from LaCie which allows you to connect external eSATA drives to your Thunderbolt equipped Mac.
The hub comes with two Thunderbolt ports and two eSATA ports. Users can connect up to two eSATA drives to the hub for use on their Thunderbolt equipped Macs. The additional Thunderbolt ports can also be used to daisy chain additional Thunderbolt peripherals off the device.
eSATA is a high performance drive connector used to connect external hard drives to your computer. eSATA has never been a standard option on Macs, but is a faster alternative to USB 2.0 and Firewire and is commonly found on high performance external drives and storage arrays. As noted by CNet, eSATA devices are also presently cheaper than their Thunderbolt counterparts. While Thunderbolt has a higher maximum speed than eSATA, if you are just connecting a single external drive (and not a drive array), it's not likely to exceed the upper limit of eSATA.
So, for those who are have existing eSATA drives or are waiting for Thunderbolt drives to drop in price, this could be a good interim solution. Unfortunately, LaCie hasn't released a price yet, but this eSATA hub is expected to be available during the first quarter of 2012.
Popular Stories
During WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that macOS 26 Tahoe would be the final major macOS version for Intel-based Macs.
macOS 27 will be compatible with Apple silicon Macs only, meaning that you will need a Mac with an M-series chip or a MacBook Neo with an A18 Pro chip in order to install the software update. Apple will unveil macOS 27 during its WWDC 2026 keynote this Monday, June 8, and the...
On an earnings call in late April, Apple's CEO Tim Cook said that customer response to the MacBook Neo was "off the charts," and the popularity of the laptop has reportedly led the company to significantly boost production.
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo this week said he believes that MacBook Neo shipments to Apple were doubled from an initial target of 5 million units to 10...
Update: Since publication, new information has come to light suggesting the images have been AI-manipulated and are not in fact iPhone 18 Pro chassis parts. The original article follows.
The color options Apple is reportedly planning for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max have appeared online today in the form of images of chassis parts of unknown authenticity....
CNet reports on a new eSATA Hub from LaCie which allows you to connect external eSATA drives to your Thunderbolt equipped Mac. 
