We wrote about Apple's #-Link-Snipped-# which is going to dwarf other cables. This post describes why the Thunderbolt cable costs $50 (yep!) and why it is so speedy when it comes to data transfer. The first Thunderbolt capable device Promise's #-Link-Snipped-#, made a debut recently. If you wish to use it with your Thunderbolt capable Mac, you will first have to hunt for the cable that is only available from Apple and given the price, we're quite sure you won't want to buy one just yet. First things first - the Thunderbolt cable isn't just couple of copper wires bundled under the plastic coating.

Folks at #-Link-Snipped-#managed to get a thunderbolt cable and then cut the hard plastic to expose the internals. There were predictions made on the Internet that the cable is 'active' and may have chips with a firmware on it. It turns out that those predictions were correct. The cable indeed has Gennum GN2033 on either side. In addition, there are two more chips labeled S6A 1JG on one side, and chips labeled 1102F SS8370 and 131 3S. There is an array of resistors across the bigger chips to provide the necessary impedance as needed. We believe the $50 price tag is justified for 12 larger, inscribed chips, and tons of smaller electronic components included in a single Thunderbolt cable.

#-Link-Snipped-#
Apple Thunderbolt Cable Exposed