MacBook Pro Docking Station Recommendation

I am about ready to switch from a PC laptop to the new MacBook Pro, but seem to have found an Apple shortcoming. That would be the availability of a docking station similar to those available for PC's. My HP dock has a single cable connection to my laptop. I can attach all sorts of peripherals to the dock and power the laptop on with a switch so the laptop can remain closed if desired. The cable also provides some flexibility in movement of the laptop on my desk.

I have yet to find an equivalent device for Macs. Henge dock, Byte-Dock and Book-Endz each seem to have their own set of liabilities. Apple's only solution is to plunk down another grand for the Thunderbolt display. I just find it hard to believe this is all there is to choose from. How is it the PC manufacturers seemingly have this handled and Apple does not?

In any case, I am sure there are those on this forum who have experience with Mac docks and I would greatly appreciate any feedback or recommendations you might have.

Thank you.

Rick

Thunderbolt is the promise of a Dock system - i.e. one connection. There are several third parties working on docks - Belkin and Matrox - but those were due in September and have now been pushed to early next year. You are right the official Apple line is to get a Thunderbolt Display and use it as a dock - and although it isn't cheap - the other docks I mentioned are on the order of $400 - and there isn't any display to speak of.
Thunderbolt Docking Station for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air
Thunderbolt Docking Station for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air - $249 according to the press release
Thunderbolt Express Dock | Belkin USA Site

Personally - I am waiting for the next round as the current Thunderbolt has only USB 2.0 ports. I am at least waiting for the new iMac announcement to see if something releases then. If the Thunderbolt Display had USB 3.0 support then I would be in for it.

Another choice is to get the Thunderbolt display refurbished - which puts it at $850 USD.

Thanks for the links. Good news that the market is responding to a need. I wonder why they do not offer more than 2 or 3 USB ports. At least Belkin is using all 3.0 ports.

Question: If you need to hook up more USB devices than the number of dock ports provided, what are the options for doing so? Have not had to face that issue with PC docks.

Rick

Independent of dock ports - you can always get USB hubs. There are plenty of travel hubs as well as full powered desktop hubs. My problem is I bought a refurbished MBA - so I only have USB 2.0 That is why I am waiting for a thunderbolt solution for USB 3.0.
(Even on my old Dell monitor which has a built in USB 2.0 hub - I hook up multiple hubs to it so that I can hook up many drives as well as cameras and such)

Check out kwikdock, it's a brand new docking station for the MacBook Pro that is easy to use and save a lot of time.
www.kwikdock.com

Aha! Another player enters the game. Thanks for the link, Karly.

Rick

Did you ever settle on a docking solution? I am looking for a good solution as well.
-Brian

No and yes. After I started using my Mac, my set-up did not use as many peripherals as I was using with my HP laptop. One reason was the substitution of Time Machine for my router. So I did not find it inconvenient to detach the power cord, external speaker jack, monitor cable and printer cable when I wanted to go mobile with the Mac. Considering the cost of available docks, I figured that was a small price to pay.

But now the yes part. I added a second external drive for backup and that forced me to find an additional USB port. I bought a Belkin Hi-Speed USB 2.0 4-port hub. It has an AC power cord and a USB cord to connect to the Mac. Now I have four additional USB ports that I use for my printer, external drive and charging cord for my mouse.

Rick

I know this is a dated thread but if anyone is still looking, CalDigit has released a Thunderbolt Station docking doohickie. Works right out of the box!