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MacSales has a similar tool for $30. Hard to understand why anyone would buy the reviewed item at the price asked. The MacSales one works fine for me. Has USB3/SATA/PATA also.

Too bad this doesn't include Thunderbolt.

For USB this functionality can be had for under 20 dollars ... For talking to SATA drives, the GoFlex desktop and mobile (desktop preferred for 3.5 inch drives) docks expose a SATA connection with power. From 20 to 99 dollars unless you want thunderbolt, then around 200. So lots of cheaper solutions, though this one comes with a nice mounting plate to swap to the bare drive...

I prefer the "toaster" style of the NewerTech Voyager Q, not to mention it's a third of the price of this thing.

I almost skipped the review when I saw the price. With so many other options out there, why tout the most expensive one?

And a review is supposed to be your thoughts on the product HAVING USED IT. The info in this "review" just states what any website could tell you. How about your opinions on speed, functionality, reliability... y'know, usage. As is, this write up is a preview of the item. What was the rating based on? Pros? Cons?

And as usual, Thunderbolt is nowhere in sight. I think Apple really went up a blind alley with T-bolt. They should have had a lot of peripheral manufacturers on board before they went with the new DOA standard.

I do like the features of this device, though I use the Voyager multi-interface drives at a fraction of the cost (like, what's so important about device status that it needs an LED window to monitor it?).

You're right Jasonmwa,
If they had tested the product, then you would have gotten the information that tells you WHY it is 200+ dollars.

These guys WiebeTech make the Forensics Tech that law enforcement uses to infiltrate computers used in criminal activities, so this is top notch stuff. The report doesn't tell you about the LCD screen that's on this unit, does it?

- You can access a drive's S.M.A.R.T. data such as hours used, number of power cycles, and disk health. UltraDock v5 also displays model and serial number reported by the drive's firmware.

- You can also get access to a drive's HPAs (Host Protected Areas) and DCOs (Device Configuration Overlays). These are the low level areas hidden from operating systems. Systems manufacturers use them for BIOS backups. You can now do what the "Big Boys" do when you need to repair a drive. You can detect, remove, create, or modify this information. Embedded systems programmers can use UltraDock v5 to create useful HPA/DCO areas for their own use.

And since thunderbolt is new, the criminal world hasn't gotten into using it yet, so WeibeTech hasn't added it. But trust me, when that happens, you'll see it added to their arsenal....

There is so much more to this product! You can attach their drive product Encryptor to secure you drives and they also have different combo adapters as well.
This article makes this product look like a glorified external multi-drive connector and does the product NO JUSTICE as it stands.

OH, I forgot to mention I have the older Forensics version of UltraDock, which gave me nothing but the best service I could possibly hope for. I gave it to a friend in hopes of getting him to "step his game up", since he owns a repair shop of his own now. I'm looking to get this consumer model for myself in the near future.

thomaspin, on 19 July 2012 - 10:22 AM, said:

I couldn't agree more. My NewerTech Universal Drive Adapter from MacSales was the best $30 I've ever spent.

oirudleahcim, on 19 July 2012 - 01:06 PM, said:

Thunderbolt is hardly DOA. It took 18 months for USB to take off. More and more peripherals are coming in with Thunderbolt support.

The problem I have with the OWC $30 solution is it's very, very slow, doesn't work with all drives it should, and it's very fragile. And just plain non-functional in terms of design.

I suspect the people this device will appeal to are those with forensic software that do that for a living.

alphanoir, on 19 July 2012 - 01:39 PM, said:

Thanks AlphaNoir! Your write-up is way better than the actual article.

leicaman, on 20 July 2012 - 06:24 AM, said:

Actually, a lot of techheads and repair/servicemen like myself find this tool invaluable. If you're a "one computer at a time per 50 years whichever comes first" type of person, of course this solution is not for you. But I find that a lot of the folks here think that owners of a mac are only personal computer users who read this stuff, no professional or career people who have many machines to deal with, no household with 4+ computers and the like. That's why I believe this product is being compared with such sub-standard gear in these replies. And I agree with you, Thunderbolt is new. It's gonna take time to catch on just like usb.

oirudleahcim, on 19 July 2012 - 01:06 PM, said:

Peripheral makers don't generally start producing things for a new interface until there's a critical mass of ports actually in the field who might get talked into buying the product and offsetting the costs involved in bringing that production online. USB was around for almost 3 years before it saw real adoption by peripheral makers, and even then it only really happened because a machine shipped that had no legacy ports and was selling like hotcakes.

There's a world of difference between nascent and dead.