(credit: Byte-dock) Byte-dock | £149.99 | www.byte-dock.com
if you like to use your MacBook Pro with an external screen, keyboard and mouse then Byte-dock might be something worthy of consideration. Byte-dock is a docking solution that is designed specifically for MacBook Pro (with Thunderbolt) and unlike the TwelveSouth’s book arc, Byte-dock not only holds up your MacBook Pro elegantly upright but also route the ports to the back of the Byte-dock.
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to one end of the Byte-dock, you will find an Ethernet port, DVI-out, a FireWire 80 port as well as a USB port. on the other end (aka the front), are a pair of USB ports, an audio out as well as headphones out jack. all you have to do is to slot your MacBook Pro into the Byte-dock and you are good to go. embedded within the slot of the Byte-dock are various connections that matches to those on your MacBook Pro and will be ultimately routed to the Byte-dock. in the images here, we can clearly see a pair of 3.5mm jacks within the slot which means this dock designed for 15-inch or larger MacBook Pro. however, there is an option for the 13-inch MacBook Pro as well [edited].
another downside is, when the MacBook Pro is docked, you will have no access to your SD card slot without removing the laptop from the dock. which can be quite a big issue for those who need to access the slot frequently. other than that, this looks like a pretty brilliant solution for people who uses external screen and keyboards (with mouse, of course). there’s one just more thing. the Byte-dock is non-powered but the thoughtful slot to the rear of the dock allows you to hook up to MagSafe to power you MacBook. that said, it also means that you will not be able to use the LED cinema display as it requires the use of the Thunderbolt port which is clearly not present on this dock.
however, it is not fair for me to pass any judgement as the information available to us is still pretty vague at this point and the official website doesn’t help much either. regardless, the idea is great but aesthetically, i am not all that impressed, especially with the words ‘Byte-dock.com’ in white across the product sides. hit the jump to check out the product intro video of the Byte-dock. the Byte-dock has a price tag of £149.99 and will be available soon.
thanks to Byte-dock Team for the advise!
