Even though major tech companies such as Intel and Apple have been slow to embrace USB 3.0, motherboard makers and device manufacturers are doing their part in helping bring this technology to mainstream ground. The latest salvo comes from Super Talent, which is expanding its offerings with a new line of budget-friendly USB 3.0 flash drives called the Express Duo. They come in both 8GB and 16GB capacities and will sell for a mere $14 and $29, respectively.
The new drives can reportedly hit data transfer speeds of 67MB/s. While that might not be quite up there with the faster USB 3.0 flash drives, it still exceeds the maximum read speed of USB 2.0 units by a significant margin. The USB 2.0 specification has a theoretical maximum data transfer rate of 480Mbps (60MB/s) but real speeds tend to run between 13MB/s and 34MB/s when protocol overhead is figured in.
Needless to say, the new Express Duo drives are backwards compatible with USB 2.0, so you'll be able to use them at lower speeds when USB 3.0 is not available. As Super Talent puts it, "there's simply really no reason to buy a USB 2.0 flash drive anymore." The company is already shipping samples and will begin taking orders later this month.