Intel to expand Thunderbolt availability
Originally dubbed Light Peak, Thunderbolt is a new interface for connecting computers to peripheral devices, developed by Intel at Apple's request.
While Apple has filed for the Thunderbolt trademark, the rights will reportedly be transferred to Intel, which will continue to develop the new high-speed data transfer standard.
Intel developed the Thunderbolt technology, which allows the dual bi-directional transfer of data over copper cable at 10Gbps per channel, according to GMANews.
Thunderbolt was unveiled in February, and the first devices it appeared in were Apple's MacBook Pros.
The technology will be used in ultra books, which Intel is promoting as a new category of thin-and-light PCs with tablet-like features. At IDF, a Windows PC with Thunderbolt connected to a solid-state drive was shown transferring four uncompressed videos at 700MB per second, says PCWorld.
Only a few Thunderbolt peripherals are available today because of the exclusivity of the technology to Apple. But with Acer and Asus adopting Thunderbolt for PCs, a larger number of peripheral makers could adopt the interconnect.
Thunderbolt currently supports the PCI Express and DisplayPort protocols, which helps reduce the number of connectors needed to attach peripherals to computers.
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