eSATA is quickly becoming the storage bus of choice for users wanting SATA-level performance with the flexibility of an external enclosure. However, mainstream adoption of eSATA still faces some hurdles.
Supported external drives and enclosures arent nearly as ubiquitous as their USB and FireWire counterparts, and widespread motherboard support for eSATA is still on the distant horizon. For a more detailed description of current eSATA options, check out Loyd Cases recent story “eSATA: Fast External Storage.”
Like any other technology, early eSATA adoption for the forward-looking geek was an expensive venture. But more companies have started taking the plunge with new products of their own, turning a young and pricey technology into a more familiar and affordable one.
Today, were taking a look at two such companies betting on a bright future for eSATA. Seagates new eSATA 300GB external drive includes everything you need to get fast, portable storage to your PC. If you prefer rolling your own, Promises eSATA300 TX4302 adds 3Gb/sec. eSATA support to your motherboard over a PCI adapter.