USB 3.0 SSDs Hit 240MB/s, Goes Retail Very Soon

One of the most anticipated products for SuperSpeed USB is solid state storage which can easily max out the potential of the new interface. Active Media's Aviator 312 line of USB 3.0 external MLC SSDs is the first to race into retail before years's end with capacities ranging from 16GB to 64GB. One of the major selling points of the Aviator is obviously speed, topping at 240MB/s read and 160GB/s write. As impressive as numbers are, the USB 3.0 SSDs only make use 40% of the USB 3.0 theoretical bandwidth. So, there are still much room for improvements.

Also appealing is the size, measuring less than 3" long and 0.2" thick. The drive sporting an industrial aluminum design will be the first to employ the micro-USB 3.0 connector. In perspective, the SSD will be smaller than a credit card and easily fits in one's pocket or even a wallet. Why Active Media didn't make a USB / ExpressCard hybrid drive is beyond us. And what's not so welcome is the price tag - $209 for 64GB; $119 for 32GB; and $89 for 16GB. Then again, a 128GB USB 2.0 flash drive is equally prohibitively expensive.