Ultrabooks to get Thunderbolt in second quarter 2012

Rumors that Intel's speedy Thunderbolt™ input/output interface would be making its way to the Ultrabook™ have been circulating for some time, and now industry sources are saying consumers can expect the technology to be available in the second quarter of 2012.

According to technology news provider DigiTimes, several PC manufacturers are designing Ultrabooks running on Intel's Ivy Bridge chipset, which is capable of supporting USB 3.0 technology and Thunderbolt.

Introduced in February 2011, Thunderbolt is a versatile input/output interface that enables transfer speeds of up to 10 gigabytes per second. The technology is compatible with a range of technologies, including cameras, monitors, external hard drives, docking stations and more.

DigiTimes says Thunderbolt will be available on most high-end Ultrabooks and will likely make its way to other PC models by 2013. Sources told the news provider that Thunderbolt could bump up Ultrabook costs by about $20.

Analyst firm Juniper Research predicts 178 million Ultrabook computers will ship in 2016, and Thunderbolt could be an instrumental factor in making the Ultrabook a household name.