14 DAY TRIAL // Much technological advancement has been made over the past few years, even in spite of the struggling economy. Six-core CPUs have come to market, DirectX 11 graphics are running rampant and even tablets and e-readers have practically carved their own niche. These products and technologies, however, will only service specific segments of the consumer base. Nevertheless, there is one standard that will eventually make it into all types of electronics, namely SuperSpeed USB 3.0.
USB 3.0 has been in existence for a while now but it has not exactly become very widely available because it lacks native chipset support. Motherboards that feature this interface do so because they boast a USB controller chip. The standard still gained traction, even thus handicapped, as is clear form the variety of USB 3.0-enabled external storage units that have debuted so far. Silicon power has even decided to increase this (still) small product family by one.
Flash memory unit maker Silicon power has just brought the existence of the A80 rugged portable hard drive to the world's attention. Measuring 139 x 96 x 19 mm, the storage device provides fast transfer rates (up to 5Gbps) inside a dust-proof, water-proof and pressure resistant enclosure. The product meets US military drop test standards MIL-STD-810F 516.5 procedure IV and has a cable carry design. It even features an LED power and data access indicator.
Of course, for maximum compatibility, Silicon Power made sure that its newest creation was compatible with USB 2.0 ports. As for compatibility, the A80 will work on Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Mac 10.3.X and above, and Linux 2.6.X and above. Pricing and availability details are still unknown, but when the 320GB, 500GB and 640GB models do become available, they will be backed by a 3-year warranty.