FirewireDirect.com Inc. on Thursday introduced the Ultra III 800, a new 3.5-inch desktop hard drive line that sports support for the FireWire 800 data interface.
FireWire 800 made its Mac debut in January with Apple’s introduction of the 17-inch PowerBook G4. The fast peripheral interface, also known as IEEE 1394b, supports data transfer speeds of up to 800Mbps, twice as fast as the original FireWire interface still found on most Macs.
The Ultra III 800 features Oxford Semiconductor’s Oxford 922 bridge chip, and handles both FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 interfaces. FirewireDirect.com calls the Ultra III 800’s chassis “Titanium styled.”
The drive ships with FireWire and USB cables, and includes Intech Speed Tools drive management software. The Ultra III 800 is available in capacities ranging from 0GB (a bare enclosure you can out your own drive mechanism into) to 320GB, with prices starting at US$139.