belkin

After a slight delay from its expected release date in September 2012, Belkin's Thunderbolt Express Dock is now available, at a price of $300. Such docking stations have become popular with the advent of Thunderbolt ports in Apple Macs.

Like other Thunderbolt docks, the Express Dock has a number of different I/O ports to enhance your Mac's connectivity options, with three USB 3.0 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, a FireWire 800 port, 3.5mm audio in and out, and two Thunderbolt ports.

In its initial press releases, Belkin suggested the Express Dock would include an eSATA connection; … Read more

Belkin announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Linksys from Cisco.

The privately held networking vendor unveiled its interest in Linsys in late January, and now the deal is complete. This means Linksys' technologies, including its routers and the Smart Wi-Fi portfolio and services, will be managed and maintained by Belkin, but as a separate brand and product portfolio.

This also means that Cisco Connect Cloud, with which users can manage and control control home networks powered by a Smart Wi-Fi router via the Internet, will also be branded without Cisco in its name.

Cisco bought Linksys back … Read more

Previous reports of Cisco looking to sell its home router division have turned out to be true.

Belkin announced this afternoon that it is planning to acquire Cisco's home networking business unit, which includes the Linksys brand.

While Belkin will also be grabbing some other products, resources, and employees from Cisco's home networking group, it maintained that the Linksys name will remain intact.

Belkin also promised to offer support for Linksys products, and guaranteed that it would honor valid warranties for current and future Linksys products.

Linksys will enhance Belkin's capabilities to meet the needs of OEMs, … Read more

There are plenty of creative hacks you can use to control a random appliance or two in your house with Apple's Siri, but most of them take some level of programming and hardware expertise to accomplish.

I've come up with a less tech-savvy way to use Siri to control a lamp, or anything that plugs in. You'll only need to know how to give Siri a command after everything is set up.

LAS VEGAS--Lego! iPhone! The two were made for each other.

iPhone cases are like snowflakes in Aspen at CES 2013, but Belkin's tucked-away iPhone 5 Lego cases found a way to catch my eye. Maybe because they're cute and colorful...and maybe because I have a 4-year-old who likes to make Lego dioramas when we're out at dinner.

I can't help but imagine setting up my face-down iPhone at a table and setting up a Star Wars action scene on it...or building an awkward tower. Or, using bricks to design your own 3D makeshift look. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--iPad keyboard cases galore litter CES, but Belkin has some nice new models up its sleeve, including a clever one that converts your old Apple keyboard. I gave them a whirl over at Belkin's booth.

The Convertible Keyboard Case (top), announced at the show, costs just $49 and adopts a standard Apple bluetooth keyboard to become a pretty portable keyboard case. The foldable case essentially acts as a wraparound folio/stand, but its design is elegant, finding a way to fold the Apple keyboard's tubular back into the design without adding bulge.

The Ultimate Keyboard Case is … Read more

LAS VEGAS--A new front opened Monday in the fight to own place-shifting devices when Sling Media, a subsidiary of EchoStar, filed a lawsuit against two of its rivals that accuses them of patent infringement.

Sling, maker of the Slingbox devices that allows users to watch and control their home television from anywhere, filed suit against competitors Belkin International and Monsoon Multimedia. Both are California companies that make devices that compete with the Slingbox at lower prices -- Belkin's @TV and Monsoon's Vulkano.

The announcement comes on the same day Dish Network, a key technology partner of EchoStar, announced an expanded version … Read more

Matrox has announced the release of its DS1 docking solution for Thunderbolt-equipped Mac systems, which comes in either a DVI or an HDMI option, and otherwise provides Ethernet, USB 2.0, and USB 3.0, as well as additional audio ports to Macs.

Thunderbolt is Apple's next-generation I/O technology that is built to be a long-lasting, multi-purpose port for its Mac lineup. The port offers a massive 10Gbps throughput and combines the protocols for both Displayport and PCI-express, allowing for not only external monitors but also a vast number of expansion possibilities, far beyond the capability of USB … Read more

A third-party accessories maker has finally been given the green light by Apple to make products for the Lightning connector.

Belkin said today that it will introduce an all-in-one car charger and a charge-and-sync dock for Apple's newest connector within the next couple weeks.

Apple in September unveiled the iPhone 5's new cable, dubbed Lightning, that replaces the 30-pin connector Apple has used since 2003. The iPad Mini and the newest version of the iPad use Lightning, and it's likely Apple will continue updating its gadgets to include the new connector. Since introducing the connector, Apple has … Read more