In an age when standard USB 2.0 cables can be purchased for next to nothing, the $40 price tag on Belkin’s 4-foot USB 3.0 cable ought to be enough to keep most of us out of the early adopter demographic for a while.
If you’re hell bent on transfer speeds that are “three times faster than USB 2.0,” though, you’ll be able to pick up a few products from Belkin starting in April.
There’s the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 PCIe Add-In Card for $80, the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ExpressCard for $80, and four different cables: a 4-foot A-B cable for $40, an 8-foot A-B cable for $50, a 4-foot Micro-B cable for $40, and an 8-foot Micro-B cable for $50.
Those are the suggested retail prices, so they may be a bit lower once they hit the market. Everything’s backwards-compatible with USB 2.0 devices, too.
Full Press Release:
Belkin Introduces SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Products
- SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Products Deliver Transfer Speeds of up to Three Times Faster Than USB 2.0
- Download HD Movies, Charge Mobile Devices, and Transfer Videos and Photos from Your Camera to Your Computer More Quickly with SuperSpeed USB 3.0
PLAYA VISTA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Belkin announces a new line of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 products, including a PCIe Add-In Card, ExpressCard, and Premium A-B and Micro-B Cables. SuperSpeed USB 3.0 products provide a high rate of transfer speed that allows you to move content-rich media back and forth between different devices.
USB 3.0 is specified to transfer at five gigabits per second, or 10 times faster than USB 2.0*. In our tests we observed speeds of up to 180 megabits per second, or three times faster than USB 2.0, which is a great improvement for activities such as large file transfers. USB 3.0 products are backward-compatible with USB 2.0 devices and will interoperate with them as well.
With SuperSpeed USB 3.0 products, you can do the following faster than before:
- Download HD movies and other multimedia
- Transfer high-bandwidth media and files back and forth
- Charge and sync devices, like a digital camera or smartphone
STATISTICS
- An In-Stat 2008 report shows more than 3 billion USB-enabled devices currently being shipped.
- According to The NPD Group data from February 2010, Belkin is the current market leader in USB connectivity**.
AVAILABILITY
SuperSpeed USB 3.0 PCIe Add-In Card (F4U023) – $79.99
- Connects up to 127 USB devices (through cascading additional hubs)
- Supports plug and play and hot-swap functionality
SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ExpressCard™ (F4U024) – $79.99
- Fully compliant with ExpressCard specification 1.0 and Universal Serial Bus 3.0 specification Revision 1.0
- Supports plug and play and hot-swap functionality
- Connects up to 127 USB devices (through cascading additional hubs)
SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Premium A-B Cable, 4 ft. (F3U158-04) – $39.99; 8 ft. (F3U158-08) – $49.99
SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Premium Micro-B Cable, 4 ft. (F3U165-04) – $39.99; 8 ft. (F3U165-08) – $49.99
QUOTE
RJ Theodore, General Manager of Core Products, at Belkin:
“Belkin has always led in adopting new technology and bringing products that support these new technologies to consumers. USB 3.0 is positioned to have a major impact in connectivity for computers, media players, and other devices. Similar to when USB 2.0 was first introduced, we plan on leading the integration of USB 3.0 with a line of thoughtful solutions that are easy for our customers to understand and use.”
*This is the theoretical performance of the USB 3.0 standard as specified by the USB-IF. Real-world throughputs will vary.
**USB connectivity consists of the following NPD categories: USB Hubs and USB Cables.