Kanguru announces eSATA pendrive

Author: Gareth Halfacree
Published: 20th November 2008
Comments (10) Stumble
Kanguru announces eSATA pendrive

The Kanguru e-Flash is the first pendrive to come equipped with both USB 2.0 and eSATA connectivity.

If you're looking for an ultra-fast pen drive but can't stand the wait for USB 3.0 “SuperSpeed”, you might want to see the latest bit of kit to come from the labs of Massachusetts-based Kanguru – a USB/eSATA unit.

First spotted by Engadget, the Kanguru e-Flash features both USB 2.0 and eSATA connectivity at opposing ends – allowing for backwards compatibility whilst giving it the ability to interface at speeds of up to 3Gb/s if you've got a free eSATA port.

Available in 16GB and 32GB capacities – with a 64GB version due at the start of next year – the devices certainly tick a lot of boxes. Realising that not everyone has a PC with eSATA connections, Kanguru has opted to bundle a bracket adaptor that allows you to convert a free internal SATA port to an eSATA unit at the rear of your PC along with the necessary cables to make use of same.

The performance of the device is nothing to sneeze at, either: the company claims a read speed of up to 30MB/s when connected via USB jumping to a massive 75MB/s when using eSATA; write speeds aren't quite so dramatic, but still pretty reasonable at 20MB/s for USB and 25MB/s for eSATA. Clearly, USB has been holding external SSD devices back – remove that from the equation and you can get more than twice the read speed from the same flash memory.

Compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux kernels above 2.4.1, the devices are available in the US right now priced at $85 (£57) for the 16GB or $120 (£80) for the 32GB. Pricing for the 64GB has yet to be announced, along with availability this side of the pond.

Tempted by some eSATA pendrive goodness, or are you hanging on to your existing USB 2.0 solution until USB 3.0 pokes its head above the parapet? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
Quote p3n 20th November 2008, 09:55
What happens if you connect both ends at once?
Quote Gareth Halfacree 20th November 2008, 10:04
Quote:
Originally Posted by p3n
What happens if you connect both ends at once?
It creates a vortex in the space/time continuum, which will eventually swallow all matter and destroy the universe.

Alternatively, it simply chooses whichever connection initialised first - which is likely to be the eSATA port.
Quote perplekks45 20th November 2008, 10:06
It explodes.

Nice gadget but pretty expensive. Although... is it bootable? It's not, right?
Quote Gareth Halfacree 20th November 2008, 10:16
Quote:
Originally Posted by aon`aTv.gsus666
Nice gadget but pretty expensive. Although... is it bootable? It's not, right?
Can't think why it wouldn't be - BIOS support depending, of course. Heck, my no-name 32MB USB1.1 pendrive boots just fine - and an eSATA device appears to the system as a standard SATA drive (heck, if you use the included bracket adapter it /is/ a standard SATA drive, as that connects to a normal internal SATA port on the motherboard.)
Quote taliban_raider 20th November 2008, 10:49
Unlike USB eSata does not provide power right? So for use with eSata you would need the usb cable plugged in aswell I would assume.
Quote mclean007 20th November 2008, 11:00
How come it can read through eSATA at 75 MB/s but only 30 MB/s through USB? I guess what I mean is, I know there are bus overheads etc., but why does USB 2.0 (which is rated at 480 Mbps = 60 MB/s) seem to limit a flash drive which is demonstrably capable of reading at 75 MB/s to just half the rated bandwidth of the USB connection?
Quote GoodBytes 20th November 2008, 13:30
Quote:
Originally Posted by taliban_raider
Unlike USB eSata does not provide power right? So for use with eSata you would need the usb cable plugged in aswell I would assume.

Actually, eSATA does have power that passes through... very little, and about nothing compared to USB, but it would seam to be enough for this pen drive. Also you must remember that without power at all, then no data can be transferred, as data is electricity.
Quote Lazarus Dark 20th November 2008, 13:33
It's using a proprietary esata connection that provides power, you actually must use the included bracket as it adds the power to the esata connector.
Quote HourBeforeDawn 20th November 2008, 17:27
huh well this is certainly interesting, so they are using the new eSata standard that combines both power and data unlike the current eSata standard which is just data. I wish we would make the move to that standard sooner so it would makes sooo much easier and require less cables....
Quote pendragon 20th November 2008, 18:12
sweet.. I wish this was cheaper though :)
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