Chances are, if you've read the word 'Thunderbolt' this week, it was related to Intel's new Thunderbolt 2 technology. However, Thunderbolt 2 wasn't the only iteration of Thunderbolt on show at Computex. Intel has also been flaunting a thumbdrive that uses Thunderbolt tech to deliver super fast speeds.
PCWorld reports that the drive is 128 GB in capacity and is a prototype device. In fact, it's one of the first thumb drives demonstrated using Thunderbolt connectivity. It's based on Sandisk SSD storage and requires no cables for data transfer. Though Intel's Oren Huber says there has been some interest in building products based on the design, Intel didn't mention any plans to bring the thumbdrive it had on hand to market.
Intel announced the next generation of Thunderbolt in April of this year. The controller, originally codenamed "Falcon Ridge," runs at 20Gbs, doubling the bandwidth over the original Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt 2 enables 4K video file transfer and display simultaneously by combining two previously independent 10Gbs channels into one 20Gbs bi-directional channel that supports data and/or display. Intel says we can hope to see Thunderbolt 2 products before the year is out.