Licensing issues at Intel are keeping the number of Thunderbolt accessories low, says ArsTechnica. Although more accessories should be en route soon, several vendors claim that Intel has been picking a relative handful of companies to work with in order to ensure products meet certification demands. Intel is denying the suggestion that it might be "cherry-picking" vendors, but acknowledges it has a limited amount of resources for approving new products.
Jason Ziller, the company's director of Thunderbolt marketing and planning, says that licensing should expand to a larger number of vendors this year. Thunderbolt first debuted on the MacBook Pro in March 2011. For several months Apple was the only computer maker using the standard, and the company remains Thunderbolt's main champion. Some Windows PCs have begun to adopt the technology as well, but USB 3.0 remains a more common connection type.
