Apple integrates Thunderbolt in Macs

The Apple Thunderbolt Display is the first display and one of the first major peripherals to ship using Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt is a dual 10Gbit/s bi-directional link developed by Intel and was first used in February on an Apple MacBook Pro. Hedging its bets on Thunderbolt, the new display also supports Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800 and has three USB 2.0 ports.

So far, just a handful of other companies including Canon, La Cie, Promise and Western Digital have said they will ship external storage devices and cameras using the interconnect. No other major OEMs have announced plans to use the technology.

The PCI Special Interest Group announced in June plans for a cabled version of PCI Express 3.0 aimed at similar applications as Thunderbolt.

The display also includes an integrated charger, an embedded Apple FaceTime camera and a 2.1 audio speaker system. It will be available in 60 days at a retail price of $999.

Apple also integrated a Thunderbolt port on new 11- and 13-inch models of its MacBook Air notebook. The systems also have two USB 2.0 ports and use Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. The company also added a Thunderbolt port on two new Mac mini models using Intel Core i5 processors. The systems also sport four USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI port and a FireWire 800 port.

In addition, Apple released Lion, the eighth version of its Mac OS, as a $29.99 download on its

- Rick Merritt
??EE Times