Sub-$70 USB 3.0 Flash Drive in the Works

News
By Kevin Parrish
published

Super Talent is launching two USB 3.0 flash drives next month.

On Thursday Super Talent Technology, a manufacturer of Flash storage devices and DRAM memory modules, announced that it is currently working on a new SuperSpeed USB 3.0 flash drive. Labeled as the USB 3.0 Express Drive, the device will achieve read speeds of up to 125 MB/s, and write speeds of up to 50 MB/s.

According to Super Talent, the new SuperSpeed technology will allow consumers to download a 600 MB onto the new drive in only 12 seconds. However, the company plans to improve its performance in the coming weeks by applying its "advanced driver technology."

"This product underscores Super Talent’s continued leadership in the USB 3.0 storage market", said Super Talent COO, C.H. Lee. “We’ve listened to our customers and responded with a USB 3.0 product that not only meets the market needs but hits the balance point between price and performance."

The USB 3.0 Express Drive measures 62 x 37 x 7.5 mm, and will be backwards compatible with USB 2.0/1.1 ports. The new drive will also come in two capacities: 16 GB and 32 GB. DailyTech claims that the smaller drive will be priced under $70, whereas the 32 GB drive will be priced just under $150.

Super Talent expects to ship the new drive worldwide in March.

Kevin Parrish
11 Comments Comment from the forums
  • metalfellow
    Not a bad price for what is right now a very unsupported technology.
    Reply
  • Swindez95
    This is going to bring a whole new meaning to booting off of flash drives on a capable machine.
    Reply
  • jfem
    This is really fast compared to 2.0, I hope it becomes mainstream soon.
    Reply
  • wayneepalmer
    I can see it now ... with only 2 USB 3.0 and 2 SATA 6gbs spots I'm going to be short of ports within a year.
    Reply
  • fortmccubble
    Wow totally glad I held off on a new flash drive purchase. Must get market adoption buy buy!
    Reply
  • I have a request for toms, to test the performance of this drive on a USB3 and USB2 port!
    In the past I've seen an interesting article of some tests done with Esata/USB2 flash drives.
    These drives are excellent for running XP, or a Ubuntu operating system on (with some tweaks).

    I'm planning on upgrading my Ubuntu to a larger in size version, and install more apps, but need a good drive for that.
    I'm planning on setting up a low power, cheap HDTV station, as well as a file/print server and hardware router without the noise of HDD's or fans.

    Currently a modded EeeBox with SSD would be best, but I'm looking into alternatives that run from a USB stick, as SSD's are faster but also more expensive.

    A few articles on the power requirement specs, speed specs, iops on usb3 and usb2 ports I'd really want to see!

    So pls, if anyone of toms reads this post and is willing to test this drive versus some of the esata usb sticks out there and write an article of some benches I'd really appreciate!

    thanks!
    Reply
  • buwish
    $70'ish isn't bad, especially for the new higher speeds.
    Reply
  • micky_lund
    ESata sticks are around this price too...should have some competition now
    Reply
  • Prices will be slashed in half within a few months of the initial release. Competition will probably be faster too by then.

    I'm always looking for the best spot to buy. I don't wait forever or until the next best thing, but I NEVER buy the new stuff that just came out. Been burned too many times with undercooked product that need 10 patches, new bioses or firmware, plagued with incompatibility or poor performance. All that for twice the price I will pay if I wait just a little.

    I'm about to get an ATI 5850. I *COULD* have bought it in November 09. But... when Fermi is out in March, that should put some competition back into the GPU market and lower prices, more refined bioses have already been released, driver have definitively matured, yield and overcooking are now better etc...

    6 Months wait to get much better for less. I call that smart buying.
    Reply
  • OvrClkr
    I wouldnt mind a 3.0 flash drive =)

    Now it comes down to the benchmarks and how much faster it is vs. the 2.0...

    download a 600 MB onto the new drive in only 12 seconds

    now that ^^ i got to see ...
    Reply