Acer, Asustek Computer and Lenovo are expected to offer ultrabooks based on Intel’s Ivy Bridge platform, which supports Thunderbolt in the second quarter of 2012, while Gigabyte Technology will take the initiative to offer Thunderbolt-enabled motherboards, reports “DigiTimes” (http://macte.ch/AAUba), quoting unnamed industry sources.”
Intel’s Ivy Bridge is already set to natively support USB 3.0 technology and will be mainly equipped in mid-range to high-end computers in 2012 and be fully standardized by 2013. However, “DigiTimes” says that, limited by the increasing cost of more than US$20, the company’s Thunderbolt technology is only expected to be adopted among high-end notebooks or desktops this year.
Running at 10Gbps, Thunderbolt technology can transfer a full-length HD movie in less than 30 seconds, according to Mooly Eden, general manager, PC Client Group, Intel, which co-developed the technology with Apple. The vision for Thunderbolt technology is to move media faster, simplify connections between devices, and foster new and exciting ways to build and use computers, says Eden.
Combining high-speed data and HD video connections together onto a single cable is instrumental to achieving that vision. Thunderbolt technology delivers this via two communications methods, or protocols — PCI Express for data transfer and DisplayPort for displays.
