Seagate Unveils USB 3.0 Laptop HDD Upgrade Kit

USB 3.0 is catching on, so expect to see lots of new SuperSpeed-enabled devices at CES. Seagate today unveiled the BlackArmor PS110 USB 3.0 portable external hard drive, packing a 500GB 7200RPM 2.5–inch portable hard drive, power cable and PC express card, to deliver real-world, proven speeds up to three times faster than its USB 2.0 predecessor, making it one of the fastest portable hard drives available.

"The growing presence of large multimedia files in the home means that connectivity and speed is a top concern for a satisfactory experience," said Dave Mosley, Seagate executive vice president, Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management. "The delivery of USB 3.0 further underscores our commitment to giving people an efficient way to store, access and share their digital creations."

With the BlackArmor PS 110 USB 3.0 drive, Seagate claims that a 25GB HD movie can be transferred in just four minutes versus the 14 minutes it would take using a traditional USB 2.0 drive. Simply plug the PC Adapter card into a notebook, connect one end of the included adapter cord to the PC card, the other end to the BlackArmor PS110 drive, and it is set.

The BlackArmor PS110 USB 3.0 performance kit contains everything you need to upgrade your laptop to take advantage of USB 3.0 speeds. The new BlackArmor PS 110 USB 3.0 Performance kit is backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and can be purchased immediately from Seagate.com for a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $179.99.

More on CES 2010.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
  • krotkdm
    How can you call this an 'upgrade kit' when nothing is being upgraded?
    It's an external hard drive!

    What is the PC adapter card being plugged into? Obviously not the USB 2.0 port.
    Reply
  • neodude007
    I think its pretty ovi they are talking about an express card or something for the laptop... it uses a really fast bus and turns the port in to USB 3.0 basically... just like a PCIe card works in a desktop. DUH they dont plug it in USB 2.0
    Reply
  • False_Dmitry_II
    My laptop's got eSATA. I'm done...
    Reply
  • ca87
    Don't be deceived! you will need a USB 3.0 compatible PC to work with it.
    USB 3.0 => USB 2.0 = null.
    Reply
  • Gin Fushicho
    DAMN. that thing is beautiful! =)
    Reply
  • HansVonOhain
    Who is a retard that downrates all responses?

    Sounds very promising for an external harddrive.
    Reply
  • jn77
    so, this drive is $79 more than the 5400rpm 500gb usb 2.0 drive....

    snap!... next
    Reply
  • anamaniac
    For external usage, I'll stick to using flash drives, thank you.

    $180 for a 500GB external? No way in hell.
    Reply
  • twisted politiks
    whats the point of usb 3.0 when the hdd read and write speeds dont even max out usb 2.0?
    Reply
  • lasaldude
    twisted politikswhats the point of usb 3.0 when the hdd read and write speeds dont even max out usb 2.0?

    Wait! Hard Drives Definitely Keep Up With USB 2. I Think You're Confused With SATA 2
    Reply