Sonnet Technologies (http://www.sonnettech.com) has cut the price on
the Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34, a two-port SATA host controller
designed for video capture and editing in the field, studio, or
office. It’s now being offered for US$199.99 instead of $299.99.
The card supports sustained data throughput of up to 200 MB/second,
140 percent as fast as Sonnet’s standard-performance Tempo SATA card
(and other popular two-port eSATA adapters) for notebook computers.
With this throughput, the Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 supports more
simultaneous video streams during playback, and enables faster file
transfers for content of any kind, says Sonnet CEO Robert Farnswort.
Based on Sonnet’s Tempo SATA E4P SATA host controller for desktop
computers, the Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 enables users to connect
up to 10 SATA hard drives to any compatible notebook computer with an
ExpressCard/34 or ExpressCard/54 slot. When used in combination with
storage systems featuring two or more drives, the Sonnet card
delivers significant gains in read and write data transfer speeds,
with remarkably higher throughput than FireWire, USB, and even
earlier-generation eSATA ExpressCard adapters, says Farnsworth.
The Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 is compatible with MacBook Pro
systems running Mac OS 10.5 and 10.4, as well as with notebooks
running Windows Vista and Windows XP SP2. The Sonnet card supports
4GB and 8GB of RAM in MacBook Pros.