iMacompanion Adds An Accessible USB 3.0 Port To Your iMac

iMacompanion already ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the creation of their USB extender for iMacs, which brings a port to the front where it’s useful instead of hidden around back where it’s beautiful but not exactly accessible. Now, they’re going back to the crowdfunding well to fund the creation of a USB 3.0 version.

This time, the campaign is on Indiegogo, and it seeks a modest $2,999 to put the USB 3.0 versions into production. The original Kickstarter version of the project managed to raise $20,000, but it intended to offer USB 3.0 as a stretch goal, yet never achieved that during the campaign. Hence campaign 2.0, which use the same anodized aluminum port up front and an 0.01-inch thick cable that goes under the stand of the iMac itself to blend seamlessly into your desktop.

[gallery ids="1004633,1004634,1004635,1004636,1004637"]

It also offers the faster transfer rate of USB 3.0, however, which will of course come in handy for those with newer iMacs (USB 3.0 was made standard on the all-in-one computer in 2012. And sure, there are other USB port workaround you can get for the Mac, including multi-port hubs, but this requires just a single cable, and it’s designed out of the same material as your iMac, plus it costs only $25 in pledges to get a single unit pre-order.

The team previously build and shipped the iDockAll smartphone dock on Kickstarter, and are now looking to expand their product line with the iMacompanion. The New York-based company aims to ship the USB extender port in October, which is the same anticipated ship date of the USB 2.0 Kickstarter version of their project, meaning they’ll have a lot of their plate come fall.

Going back to the crowdfunding well is becoming more common, with the Tango PC hitting Kickstarter after first appearing on Indiegogo. It’s definitely natural that these creators would want to extend the buzz and funding that can come from a successful project, but the pressure to deliver rises even higher when you’re tapping into multiple crowdfunding networks, so it’ll be interesting to see the fallout if either of these don’t deliver.