USB 3.0 is still a rarity in PCs with Intel eschewing the new standard for now. But if you do have the new superspeed ports, and have a moderate obsession with security, this could be right up your alley. Super Talent’s new SuperCrypt drive is compatible with USB 3.0 and is built around some serious security features.

The SuperCrypt uses hardware AES encryption in the form of 128-bit ECB for the standard version, and 256-bit XTS for the Pro edition. They will come in sizes ranging from 16GB up to a 256GB monster. Super Talent is claiming the drives will be capable of 240MB/s on USB 3.0. The drives are still backwards compatible with USB 2.0 slots if you fancy being future proof.

Prices are not being announced yet, but we expect them to be high. If you want the full rundown, checkout the PC Perspective testing.

Gigabyte is apparently taking this whole USB 3.0 thing pretty seriously and is stoked that two of its P55-based motherboards -- GA-P55A-UD7 and GA-P55A-UD5 -- have passed official certification by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF).

But the SuperSpeed buck doesn't stop there. Gigabyte says it is "aggressively adopting USB 3.0" on all of nearly its platforms, including the Intel X58, P55, H57, P45, and P43 chipsets, as well as AMD 790FX, 790X, 770, and 785G chipsets.

"We are investing heavily in developing the USB 3.0 ecosystem and are overjoyed to see that the majority of motherboards listed on the SuperSpeed USB Compliance Web page are from GIGABYTE," said Henry Kao, Senior Vice President, Motherboard Business Unit, GIGABYTE Technology Co. Ltd. "As the Windows® 7 upgrade cycle progresses, we are finding that onboard USB 3.0 is a powerful deal clincher as consumers look to future-proof their new purchases with the very latest technologies and specifications. As such, the timing for the introduction of USB 3.0 could not be better, and we are excited about working with the USB-IF to ramp up SuperSpeed adoption and explore the new possibilities that it has to offer."

Gigabyte is getting a bit of help from NEC, which is providing the uPD720200 host controller for all of the company's USB 3.0 compliant boards. In addition, a handful of models also feature 3x USB power boost, which you can read more about here.

Image Credit: Gigabyte

Super Talent expanded its USB 3.0 product line this week by releasing the first encrypted drive to take advantage of the new SuperSpeed interface. It's called the SuperCrypt and it's available in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB capacities.

"SuperCyrpt, the third product in our USB 3.0 lineup, is the perfect blend of security, performance, and value and underscores Super Talent's commitment and leadership in the USB 3.0 market," said Super Talent COO, C.H. Lee.

Using the new drive, Super Talent says it's possible to transfer a 600MB movie in just 7 seconds. That, and any other data, will be kept secure thanks to support for AES hardware encryption. The SuperCrypt also supports 128-bit ECB encryption and 256-bit XTS encryption.

Look for this one to be available in later this month (no word yet on price).

Image Credit: Super Talent

You probably recognize Chaintech as a one-time big player in the graphics market before the company merged with Walton Advanced Engineering in 2005. Since then, the company's focus has shifted towards memory products, including the introduction of what Walton Chaintech claims is the world's smallest USB 3.0 drive.

"The Astro Drive Series A101 is miniature in comparison to the 2.5-inch products sold by other competitors. It is more mobile than an iPod, and is currently the smallest USB 3.0 device on the market. This makes this device extremely convenient for consumers on the go. In addition, the dual color exterior design in red and silver conveys high-tech qualities, while also adding a sense of trendiness with its flame-red contours. This makes the A101 more than just a cold, emotionless tech product. Instead, it is an exceptional product that encompasses both elements of fashion and quality," Walton Chaintech said.

The Astro Series A101 thumb drive boasts up to 186MB/s read and up to 130MB/s write speeds, or six times the performance of USB 2.0 drives chugging along at 30MB/s and 20MB/s reads and writes. Walton Chaintech said it will come in a variety of storage capacities, including 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB.

No word yet on price or availability.

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Image Credit: Walton Chaintech

Belkin has just introduced a few more USB 3.0 toys for retrofitters to contemplate: add-in cards that upgrade existing desktops and laptops.

The first is the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 PCIe add-in card for desktops.  The Second is the SuperSpeed 3.0 ExpressCard for laptops. Both add two USB 3.0 ports to existing hardware. And both, according to Belkin, pump data transfer speeds up to three times that of USB 2.0. (Which is a tad below USB 3.0’s theoretical upward limit of five times USB 2.0.)

Rounding out Belkin’s SuperSpeed line is a USB 3.0-compliant cable: the SuperSpeed A-B cable.

Each of the cards will retail for $79.99. The cable will cost $39 for the 4-foot cable, and $49 for the 8-foot cable. Each of these new products will appear on retailer’s shelves in April.

Image Credit: Belkin

Rest assured, as soon as you have a USB 3.0 port, Super Talent will be ready with a reasonably priced flash drive to stick in it. The company has announced its new USB 3.0 Express Drive. The drives will be available in 16GB and 32 GB sizes. When used with a USB 3.0 port, users can expect to see read speeds around 125 MB per second and write speeds of 50MB per second.

These speeds are roughly twice as fast as USB 2.0 on writes and four times as fast on reads. That’s nice, but USB 3.0 devices are supposed to be 6-10 times faster. Well, this is a budget drive. They are a bit slower than some other USB 3.0 drives will be, but the price will be low. The 16GB should go for around $70 and the 32GB for about $150.

The drive is backwards compatible with USB 2.0, so you can get one to use right now. With some USB 3.0 drives going for over $300, is the slightly slower speed worth the savings?

USB 3.0 devices are slowly trickling out, but who actually has any USB 3.0 ports to take advantage of them? Those in the market for a new PC or motherboard can get the new standard, but everyone else has to wait. Well, unless they have $40 lying around.

Tokyo-based electronics maker Greenhouse will be releasing a PCI Express PC interface card with two USB 3.0 ports. The firm is claiming the card will be capable of full 5 Gbps transfer speeds. Only time will tell if real world speeds will be that good. The card will be compatible with Windows XP, Vista, and 7. At a mere $40, it’s worth a shot.

The USB 3.0 rollout is long overdue and the overwhelming popularity of external drives as a backup medium is part of the reason why. Sure, those fancy new ports will work with your mouse, but if that's what you're waiting for, your kind of missing the point. If however you have access to an eSATA port for your external drive, you might want to hold off on USB 3.0 upgrades, at least for now.

A new benchmark released by the crew over at CrunchGear has revealed that USB 3.0 leaves a bit to be desired speed wise, at least in its early iterations and needs a bit more time to mature. Transfer speeds so far have been much slower than the theoretical maximum, but hopefully this will improve over time.

Of course USB 3.0 isn't all about speed. The new bus specification is also intended to accommodate the next generation of power hungry gadgets and drives, and also holds a pretty healthy advantage over eSATA when you start looking at long cable runs. The point here is not to rag on USB 3.0, rather it is simply intended as a friendly reminder that eSATA isn't obsolete just yet.  

If you’re anything like us, you’re hankering for some SuperSpeed USB, also known as USB 3.0. Adoption slowed after Intel’s decision to hold off on 3.0 until 2011, but now we’re hearing about the first Dell laptop to ship with the fabled ports. The Dell Precision M6500 will have USB 3.0 as well as new Core i5 CPU options, some of them dual-core.

The professional level notebook was previously only available with USB 2.0 ports and a Core i7. The machines will also come equipped with a 3.2-megapixel webcam and 64GB SSD mini card support. This means the M6500 will be able to run in a three hard drive configuration. A 3G modem, 17in screen, and Nvidia Quadro graphics round out the package.

The previous version was going for nearly $2800. No word yet on pricing for this model. Does this mean machine interest you at all?

If you’re anything like us, you’re hankering for some SuperSpeed USB, also known as USB 3.0. Adoption slowed after Intel’s decision to hold off on 3.0 until 2011, but now we’re hearing about the first Dell laptop to ship with the fabled ports. The Dell Precision M6500 will have USB 3.0 as well as new Core i5 CPU options, some of them dual-core.

The professional level notebook was previously only available with USB 2.0 ports and a Core i7. The machines will also come equipped with a 3.2-megapixel webcam and 64GB SSD mini card support. This means the M6500 will be able to run in a three hard drive configuration. A 3G modem, 17in screen, and Nvidia Quadro graphics round out the package.

The previous version was going for nearly $2800. No word yet on pricing for this model. Does this mean machine interest you at all?