Active Media Products Rolls Out Aviator-2 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 External SSDs

[btarunr]

Active Media Products, manufacturer of SSDs and innovative USB drives, today launched the new Aviator-2 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 external 2.5-inch SSDs, which offer a 400% performance gain compared to USB 2.0 external HDDs.

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 supports transfer speeds up to 4.8Gbits/sec -- ten times faster than USB 2.0. Aviator-2 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 external SSDs take advantage of USB 3.0's massive bandwidth, delivering unprecedented performance in a mobile flash storage device. Measuring just over 3 x 5 inches, the Aviator-2 is slim enough to slip into a jacket pocket.



The Aviator-2 is offered as an external USB 3.0 case-only to accommodate any standard 2.5-inch SATA HDD. With a SATA HDD installed the Aviator-2 removes the bottleneck of external USB 2.0 HDDs and unleashes the full speed of the hard drive. Or for those who don't like to wait, the Aviator-2 is available with a 64GB or 128GB Predator X7 SSD installed. For ultimate external speed, the Aviator-2 plus Predator X7 SSD will move your data at speeds up to 200MB/sec.

Aviator-2 SSDs are designed for external use, and include a felt carrying pouch and a USB 3.0 cable for connection to any USB port. The Aviator-2 is fully backward compatible; it works in any USB 2.0 or 1.1 port, but requires a SuperSpeed port to reach its full performance capabilities. A USB 2.0 power cable is included to meet the high power requirements of some HDDs, but the supplemental power is not needed with the Predator SSD installed. SuperSpeed USB is the ultimate interface for moving huge files in a hurry or for backing up data onto an external drive, and the Aviator-2 SSD is your best choice for extremely fast portable storage.

According to Jerry Thomson, vice president of sales at Active Media Products, "These products effectively render external USB 2.0 hard drives obsolete since for a few dollars more you can plug a 2.5-inch hard drive into the Aviator-2 case and get up to 200% faster performance. Or the Aviator-2 bundled with our Predator SSD inside will blow away any hard drive with speeds above 150MB/sec". Aviator-2 SSDs are available now through Amazon. Active Media Products also offers Atomix USB 3.0 PCIe and Express Card adapters to easily upgrade any desktop or laptop to USB 3.0.

[OnBoard]

Nice that it comes with a USB cable, maybe they all do, just not pictured. But I didn't know this:

USB 2.0 cables worked off of four lines – a pair for in/out data transfer, one line for power, and the last for grounding. USB 3.0 adds five new lines (the cable is noticeably thicker), but the new contacts sit parallel to the old ones on a different plane, as opposed to being adjacent to them.

Was browsing one local website and saw a blue USB 3.0 cable on the list, similar to this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-140-_-Product

So how much of speed would you get with an older cable, max 480Mbps? USB 2.0 isn't maxing out it's specs not even close so USB 3.0 devices with older cables should still be faster?

[xenos]

SSD that needs a power adapter = fail.

[Mussels]

$35 for the enclosure alone? awesome!

USB 2.0 will give you 2.0 speeds OnBoard. You need the extra wires for the extra power/speed.

USB 2.0 IS maxing out its specs, well and truly... its a half duplex standard, so when they say 480Mb, thats both directions - 240Mb (~30MB/s) each direction.

Xenos: where does it mention that an SSD needs a power adaptor?

A USB 2.0 power cable is included to meet the high power requirements of some HDDs, but the supplemental power is not needed with the Predator SSD installed