Acer, Asus and Lenovo to debut Thunderbolt ultrabooks in Q2 2012

DigiTimes reports Acer, Asustek and Lenovo will all three release ultrabooks with Thunderbolt support in Q2 2012:

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, according to 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 PC models in 2012 and be fully standardized by 2013; however, 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 in 2012, the sources noted.

Acer, Asus and Lenovo to debut Thunderbolt ultrabooks in Q2 2012 - More news at DV Hardware

Intel to reveal three new Thunderbolt controllers

Earlier this month Intel revealed plans for two "Cactus Ridge" Thunderbolt controllers at the IDF, and now word has reached VR Zone that the chip giant is also working on the L2210 "Port Ridge", a low-cost device only controller. Full details over here.

However, the controller that caught our attention is the tiny 5x6mm Port Ridge or L2210, it's a single channel controller that has been designed specifically for low-cost Thunderbolt devices. Due to its single channel design it only supports two lanes of PCI Express 2.0 bandwidth and it lacks support for pass-through connectivity. That said, there are plenty of PCI Express x1 devices that could easily be adapted for use in an external enclosure combine with Port Ridge and we can see this becoming a hugely popular Thunderbolt controller from Intel if it's priced accordingly to its functionality. Port Ridge should be in production before the end of the year, so hopefully we should see a raft of more affordable Thunderbolt devices early next year.

Intel to reveal three new Thunderbolt controllers - More news at DV Hardware