14 DAY TRIAL // There are already a drove of HDD or SSD enclosure on the market, so Icy Dock decided it would make one that can communicate via the USB 3.0 interface and, thus, offer some competition to those several solutions that try to do the same for SATA hard drives and solid state drives.
With technology developing as it is, end-users periodically upgrade or even replace their systems, and this leaves 'older' hardware lying about, doing little besides gathering dust.
In order to let such consumers still draw some benefits from their spare HDDs or SSDs, Icy Dock created the MB668U3-1SB, which lets any such SATA drive externally communicate with PCs.
The one main asset of this product is that it is, as already mentioned, compatible with the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 standard, which is a feat in itself.
The connection confers upon the storage unit a theoretical maximum throughput of 5 Gbps (4.8 Gbps), which is ten times faster than the 480 Mbps available on the USB 2.0.
In order to be compatible with this product, there are two main criteria that a SSD or HDD must meet.
For one, they need to be designed with the SATA interface. Secondly, they need to stick to the 2.5-inch form factor, since larger drives won't fit inside the 76.3 x 13 x 150 mm casing.
As for the product's overall feature set, Icy Dock threw in a blue activity LED, one-touch backup capabilities, backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 and USB 1.1, screw-less design and Plug & Play compatibility.
Finally, the MB668U3-1SB is constructed out of aluminum, is bundled with a leather pouch and a “DC to USB A Type” power cable for high performance HDD usage.
Icy Dock has already made its newest invention available in North America and Europe, priced at $34.99 and 41 Euro, respectively.