Super Talent Intros Storage POD Mini USB 3.0 External SSD

By Kevin Parrish
published

This external SSD features a max speed of over 260 MB/s when connected via a USB 3.0 interface.

On Friday Super Talent said it will change how consumers "think about external storage" with the launch of its Storage POD Mini, a portable SSD with a USB 3.0 connector. The device seems to be a smaller version of the company's current USB 3.0-based SSD, the Storage POD external drive, which measures 129 x 81 x 15-mm -- the new "Mini" model measures a smaller 110 x 68 x 10-mm.

"Thanks to USB 3.0 and SSD technologies, it is now possible to create a USB storage solution that is smaller, lighter and more rugged than a traditional HDD," the company said. "A blue anodized, all-aluminum enclosure enables this drive to be both lightweight and rugged. It fits easily in your pocket and requires no power adapter. It’s the perfect traveling companion."

Featuring a SandForce SSD processor, the Storage POD Mini has a top speed of over 260 MB/s read and writes up to 174 MB/s. A One-Touch Backup button will back up data pre-determined by the end-user, and a Read/Write switch will protect the stored data from unintentional writes, similar to an SD card. The drive is also backwards-compatible with USB 2.0, making it available to everyone with a Windows 7/Vista/XP or Mac OS X (10.4 or later) machine.

Super Talent said the Storage POD Mini is now shipping in capacities of 60 GB, 120 GB and 240 GB. To see a benchmark, check out Super Talent's video below:

Kevin Parrish
8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • RabidFace
    I just have to say it:

    How do we know that the benchmark is this drive? At the end of the video, you clearly see that he was commenting on a QuickTime video. And he says Megabits (Mb) at the end of the video, but then Megabytes (MB). This was a goof on his part.

    I just had to point these 2 things out. But, those reads and writes are probably spot on and is the actual drive.

    Also, the Toms article says this drive will write up to 174 MB/s. Yet, the video clearly shows it writes up to 204 MB/s over USB 3.0. Just something else I'm pointing out :)

    Cool little drives though. Wonder what pricing will be. Nothing on their website either.
    Reply
  • joytech22
    Hmm.. Not sure if I should buy one to replace my aging LACiE 140GB drive.
    Although it's speeds would be unused by me if I used it for college on their crappy computers. lol.
    Reply
  • halcyon
    Another reason to be annoyed my MBP doesn't have USB 3.0
    Reply
  • alidan
    i have a few questions, not this article specificly for most, but good questions none the less.

    i know read and write on a sata3 ssd will be lower, but will io operations be lower on a sata2 port?
    through usb3 will the io operations take a big hit or not?
    same question, but for usb2?

    and take notice, nothing about speed, all io operations.
    Reply
  • ojas
    And it costs?
    Reply
  • Branden
    quit using ATTO to benchmark SSDs!
    Reply
  • warezme
    ojasAnd it costs?My thoughts exactly, probably one of this things that if you have to ask how much, you can't afford it thing.
    Reply
  • cadder
    It's a fancy USB thumb drive. Is this newsworthy?

    And they talk about how small it is, but it is really pretty big. Current SSD's are 2.5" but the measurements for this device are even bigger than that. If you are going to say something is new because it is so small, it should be smaller than current SSD's.
    Reply