We're less concerned than ever about the lack of native SuperSpeed USB 3.0 support on motherboards, in part because it's coming, but also because third-party USB 3.0 chips are getting the job done without jacking up consumer costs. It's getting tough to buy a modern motherboard or computer system without USB 3.0 ports anymore -- not that you'd want to -- and it's time for device makers to step up to the plate. Coming up to bat is Corsair, which hit a solid triple by announcing the availability of USB 3.0 versions of its Flash Voyager GT, Flash Voyager, and Flash Survivor product lines.
Seagate on Wednesday started shipping the highest capacity external hard drive in the world. The company’s FreeAgent GoFlex Desk family now boasts a 4TB drive, which is a first for the industry. Even though this particular capacity might be a first, but the company is no stranger to having the distinction of selling the world’s highest capacity hard drive. It had raised the HDD capacity bar last September as well when it became the first company to begin shipping a 3TB drive. Hit the jump for details.
We don't know if Transcend is dabbling in voodoo these days or what's going, but somehow the company figured out a way to cram 2TB of storage into a container that's about the length of a USB thumb drive and only slightly thicker than a penny. Some of the credit also goes to Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), which co-developed the 'Thin Card' device.
We've given up badgering AMD and Intel to implement native USB 3.0 into their chipsets, in part because both have plans to support the SuperSpeed spec, and also because third party chips from the likes of NEC and VIA work so well without driving up the cost of motherboards. That's the hardware side. On the software side, Microsoft is creating a brand new USB software stack to better support the USB 3.0 ecosystem.
If you're looking solely at transfer rates, the USB 3.0 specification – with its 5Gbps speeds – may be plenty fast, but it already can't push the same amount of raw data as, say, Thunderbolt. New specifications coming down the pipeline, like SATA Express and external PCIe, are promising speeds that flat-out blow USB 3.0 out of the water. The USB Promoter Group's aiming to stay in the race with an innovative tactic; rather than compete solely with transfer rates, they're also turning the familiar USB connection into the equivalent of a 100W power cord. 
Even with the lack of native USB 3.0 support in current chipsets, the SuperSpeed spec is thriving all the same thanks to third party chips from NEC, VIA, and others. That means whether you own a recently purchased or self-built PC, or plan on upgrading in the near future, it's time to retire your USB 2.0 thumb drives and replace them with USB 3.0 equivalents. Add Super Talent's new USB 3.0 Express ST2 f.ash drive to your list of possible candidates.
Storage solutions and HBA (Host Bus Adapter) specialist HighPoint Technologies just let us know about its new RocketU 1144A, which is a four-port USB 3.0 add-in card. That in and of itself isn't terribly exciting, but it just so happens that this particular model is the industry's first/only four-port PCI Express Gen 2 x4, 20Gbps USB 3.0 SuperSpeed HBA. That's right, this thing packs four dedicated USB 3.0 ports, each one capable of a full 5Gbps for 20Gbps total.
Memory maker Kingston Technology announced today the launch of its USB 3.0 Media Reader. Kingston's new compact media card reader taps into the performance benefits of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 and offers up to 5Gb/s data transfers for high-resolution images, large data files, and anything else you need to shuttle over to your PC.
Like Goose and Maverick, we have a serious need for speed, which is why it's getting time to think about replacing all those USB 2.0 flash drives with USB 3.0 equivalents. It makes sense, for the right price, now that you can't hardly buy a new motherboard or PC without at least one SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port on it, and according to Patriot Memory, the company's new Supersonic Xpress USB 3.0 flash drive offers "maximum performance at an affordable price."
Portable hard drive have one purpose in mind, and that's to safely shuttle your data from point A to point B. That doesn't sound very glamorous, but even so, there's no rule that says external HDDs have to look drab. Silicon Power's new Stream S20 portable hard drive looks anything but with its sleek design and metallic purple paint job, which the company says "demonstrates its luxurious style" while "declaring its superiority" with performance to boot.
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