In an email to customers, hardware upgrade company Sonnet has announced yet another shipment delay for its Echo 15 and Echo 15 Pro+ Thunderbolt docking stations. Unveiled in April 2013, the hardware is still in the pre-order stage. The latest delay is the result of a company decision to upgrade the device to support Thunderbolt 2.0. sonnet-dock-2

Following our last Echo 15 and Echo 15 Pro+ Thunderbolt Dock status update, we received very positive feedback and valuable input that confirms these products were designed with the right feature sets. However, there has been an increasingly louder chorus of requests for them to be based on Thunderbolt 2 technology. We carefully considered this input, and, combined with recent clarification of requirements for Windows Thunderbolt compatibility, we have decided to upgrade these products to use Thunderbolt 2 chipsets.

The Thunderbolt dock features a DVD or Blu-ray reader/burner, a 2.5" or 3.5" SATA drive bay (6 Gb/s) as well as a variety of ports for USB 3.0, SATA, eSATA, FireWire 800, audio input and output, and Gigabit Ethernet connections.

The Sonnet Echo 15 dock can be pre-ordered for $400 with a DVD drive and $450 with a Blu-ray drive. Different capacity hard drives are available as an optional add-on. The Echo 15 Pro+ starts at $550 while upgrading to a Blu-ray burner and adding space for a second solid-state drive.

(Thanks, Dan!)

Top Rated Comments

Trik Avatar
134 months ago
If they announce Thunderbolt 3 soon, we can delay it again and keep the cycle going. Sometimes you just have to ship a product, there will always be something better coming along...
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
G4er? Avatar
134 months ago
Why not leave out the DVD drive and let users add an external (if they ever need one) via USB or whatever?

Hell, that's the main reason I was looking at this. Nice to have it internal instead of having another external case.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nutmac Avatar
134 months ago
I wish the darn thing looked nicer. It looks too "PC" like for my taste.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdelvecchio Avatar
134 months ago
Waaay too much for what basically is a hub.
it's all a matter of what value you get out of it. my first CD-burner was $1200, by NEC.

----------

didnt even know theres a tb 2. dead technology for the mass imo
completely wrong. it's just not designed for you, as your ignorance to its existence details.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ColdCase Avatar
134 months ago
I ordered one the beginning of April 2013.. and have suffered through number of delays, getting by with a USB3 hub. The last one almost guaranteed a Nov-December delivery. Now delivery over a year after the announcement... kinda typical for Sonnet? Next they will cancel. I suspect they could not get it to work right and they are hoping that TB 2 will either solve their issue or perhaps is just a good excuse. So instead of delivering a poorly performing product, they will just stop development. Too bad, as it has (or had) the right feature set for me.

By the way, I did not get an email with this announcement.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Skika Avatar
134 months ago
Waaay too much for what basically is a hub.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro FineWoven

Apple Reportedly Stops Production of FineWoven Accessories

Sunday April 21, 2024 6:03 am PDT by
Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories, according to the Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami." In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kosutami explained that Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories due to its poor durability. The company may move to another non-leather material for its premium accessories in the future. Kosutami has revealed...
Provenance Emulator

PlayStation and SEGA Emulator for iPhone and Apple TV Coming to App Store [Updated]

Friday April 19, 2024 8:29 am PDT by
The lead developer of the multi-emulator app Provenance has told iMore that his team is working towards releasing the app on the App Store, but he did not provide a timeframe. Provenance is a frontend for many existing emulators, and it would allow iPhone and Apple TV users to emulate games released for a wide variety of classic game consoles, including the original PlayStation, GameCube, Wii,...
iOS 17 All New Features Thumb

iOS 17.5 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday April 21, 2024 3:00 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 17.5 update for the iPhone includes only a few new user-facing features, but hidden code changes reveal some additional possibilities. Below, we have recapped everything new in the iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 beta so far. Web Distribution Starting with the second beta of iOS 17.5, eligible developers are able to distribute their iOS apps to iPhone users located in the EU...
apple vision pro orange

Apple Vision Pro Customer Interest Dying Down at Some Retail Stores

Monday April 22, 2024 2:12 am PDT by
Apple Vision Pro, Apple's $3,500 spatial computing device, appears to be following a pattern familiar to the AR/VR headset industry – initial enthusiasm giving way to a significant dip in sustained interest and usage. Since its debut in the U.S. in February 2024, excitement for the Apple Vision Pro has noticeably cooled, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On...
top stories 20apr2024

Top Stories: Nintendo Emulators on App Store, Two New iOS 17 Features, and More

Saturday April 20, 2024 6:00 am PDT by
It was a big week for retro gaming fans, as iPhone users are starting to reap the rewards of Apple's recent change to allow retro game emulators on the App Store. This week also saw a new iOS 17.5 beta that will support web-based app distribution in the EU, the debut of the first hotels to allow for direct AirPlay streaming to room TVs, a fresh rumor about the impending iPad Air update, and...