Sure, the only remotely user-replaceable component on the 11.6-inch MacBook Air are those tiny Toshiba SSDs, but PhotoFast’s got what might be one of the most elegant upgrade solutions we’ve ever seen. The Air USB 3 Adapter gives you not only a brand-spanking-new 256GB module with a Sandforce SF-1200 controller, but a speedy USB 3.0 flash drive too — which smartly doubles as the mechanism by which you move your old files over, as you can just transfer everything through the USB port. Once you’re done swapping modules, the company says you’ll see a 30 percent speed boost over the original drive, with reported transfer rates of 250MB/s on both sequential reads and writes. Shame the Japanese company didn’t specify any sort of estimated release date or price.

MacBook Air upgrade kit bumps capacity to 256GB, turns old module into USB 3.0 SSD originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 04:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Chris Scott Barr

Do you have need of a lot of external storage and want to make use of that USB 3.0 card that you decided to purchase? After all, what good is having the ports if you don’t also have devices that use them? LaCie has announced their latest external drive, dubbed the 2Big RAID drive which utilizes the latest in USB technology.

Obviously speed is the name of the game with this drive, with throughput speeds of 275MB/s. These speeds are reached by using a dual-disk RAID configuration along with the USB 3.0 technology. LaCie claims that with a drive this fast, you can stream and edit multiple HD files simultaneously. Pricing and availability have not yet been announced, though you can expect to pay a nice premium for the extra speed.

[ LaCie ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

Not that USB 3.0 will be useful anytime soon—how long did it take manufacturers to finally get behind USB 2.0?—but Asus’ U3S6 should be, provided it’s not cancelled, the world’s first USB 3.0 + SATA 6.0 PCI-E card. Better news: it’s only $30.

The card comes with two USB 3.0 ports and two SATA 6.0 ports. And if I’m doing my maths right, so long as you have a free PCI-E slot you’re good to go.

Like I said in the beginning, the card will mean little in the immediate future, given the lack of USB 3.0 products. That’s not to say I wouldn’t mind being able to sync my Zune HD using the zippy awesomeness of USB 3.0, but it’s going to be a little while before we see that. Never mind that that scenario would never happen, considering the Zune HD’s insides don’t know a darn thing about USB 3.0, but you know what I mean: a future media player that works with USB 3.0 would certainly be handy, especially as we move toward moving higher and higher resolution video to and from our various components.

It should be out “soon.” Nice and vague, yes.

Can it be? Has the same company that dashed dreams by axing its USB 3.0-laden P6X58 motherboard back in July really just revived our hope in humanity? Out of nowhere, ASUS has just unveiled the first range of motherboards to support USB 3.0 and the newest SATA specifications, the latter of which brings along 6Gbps data throughput. The one-two punch belongs to the Xtreme Design P7P55D-E series of mainboards, which support the latest Core i5 and Core i7 processors. Sadly, just two USB 3.0 ports are onboard, while a total of ten dedicated USB 2.0 sockets are scattered about. Feel free to pore over the detailed specs in the release past the break, and get ready to find the P7P55D-E Premium mobo ($299) and U3S6 expansion card ($29) at retailers next month.

Continue reading ASUS changes course, unveils ‘first’ USB 3.0 / SATA 6Gbps motherboards

Filed under: Desktops, Peripherals

ASUS changes course, unveils ‘first’ USB 3.0 / SATA 6Gbps motherboards originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ruh roh. A senior tech manager at a “top tier PC maker” has come out with some entirely unofficial and equally ominous thoughts on what he (or she) sees as the tough road to proliferation for SuperSpeed USB. Pointing out that the new interconnect “won’t get real traction until it gets integrated in the chip sets,” the source opines that Intel won’t be offering motherboard integration before 2011 — an assertion Intel has declined to comment on. AMD and NVIDIA have been vocal critics of what they see as purposeful delays by the Pentium maker, and if this latest scuttlebutt is accurate, their wild finger-pointing will have been at least somewhat vindicated. Although Intel did release the 3.0 controller spec eventually, this wouldn’t be the first (or probably last) time when it has been seen to drag its feet where doing so is in its interest (eh hem, Light Peak). For our money, plenty of people who’ve been waiting for the new standard to show up in machines before pulling the trigger on an upgrade will be disappointed by such news, especially as 3.0 devices are just beginning to ship.

[Thanks, Jacob]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Peripherals

USB 3.0 held back by lack of Intel chipset support? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By Chris Scott Barr

USB 3.0 is going to likely start showing up in new computers sometime next year, which means that we’ll be seeing USB 3.0 peripherals sometime in the near future. Since the main advantage of this new specification is obviously speed, hard drives will be one of the biggest things to take advantage of it. Since SSD’s are the fastest when it comes to transfer speeds, it’s only natural that some of the first devices to be announced are external SSD drives.

Active Media Productions has announced their new USB 3.0 SSD drives which range in sizes from 16GB to 64GB. This would essentially be the same speeds you would achieve with eSATA, only without the need for an external power source. These new Aviator 312 drives will be rather small in size, measuring only 3” long and 0.2” thick. Expect to pay a premium for the new technology, as prices will range from $89 to $209.

[ Active Media ] VIA [ EverythingUSB ]

The drives will be available this month—although it appears to be a Japan-only release for the moment. The drives will run around $250 and $284 for 1TB and 1.5TB models respectively (a 2TB model is also in the works.), and the controller will run an additional $60. It’s probably a bit early to jump on 3.0, but chances are we won’t have to wait long before the technology goes mainstream. [Buffalo Japan via Engadget]

It’s fine to announce USB 3.0 gear, but it’s another thing entirely to actually put it up for retail. Buffalo’s making the boast today that its HD-HU3 series of USB 3.0 hard disks will be the “world’s first!!” to ship. Since a USB 3.0 device is pointless without a controller to support it, Buffalo will also make NEC’s ¥5,300 (about $60) IFC-PCIE2U3 2-port PCI Expressx1 host controller available with its hard drives when they ship late October in Japan, almost a month before Freecom’s disks hit the market. The 1TB and 1.5TB drives will cost ¥20,000 (about $225) and ¥25,300 (about $284), respectively, with a ¥46,600 (about $523) 2TB disk coming sometime later. Imagine it, soon you’ll be able to take advantage of those USB 3.0 cables you bought back in April. Controller after the break.

[Via Engadget Japanese]

Continue reading Buffalo ships world’s first USB 3.0 hard disk drives this month

Filed under: Storage

Buffalo ships world’s first USB 3.0 hard disk drives this month originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Peripherals, Storage

Active Media debuts ’seriously fast’ Aviator 312 USB 3.0 SSD originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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