Legit Reviews

Las Vegas, NV– January 4, 2010 – The Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO), the industry consortium dedicated to sustaining the quality, integrity and dissemination of Serial ATA (SATA™) technology, today announced it is developing the SATA Universal Storage Module (USM™) specification for portable storage applications. The USM specification will enable developers to incorporate slots into televisions, game consoles, set-top boxes, computers, docking stations and other consumer electronics applications that will accept powered, cable free storage modules with integrated standard powered SATA interfaces for

expanding storage capacity with an external storage module. By utilizing SATA, the world’s most widely implemented storage interface, USM devices extend the speed and reliability of volume storage I/O to the consumer electronics market, and eliminate the need for a separate cable or power supply.



The SATA USM specification is the first standard specification to define slots to accept a complete, powered external storage device into consumer electronic devices. Modules, slots and interfaces designed according to the SATA USM specification will enable consumers to instantly access their music, movies, photos and other content from a variety of consumer electronics products, and to seamlessly transfer content between devices without the aid of additional power or cables. The integrated SATA interface supports transfer speeds up to 6 GB/s, offering users the same speed and reliability they’ve come to expect from their hard drives and other SATA-based devices. It gracefully degrades speed to support Gen 1(1.5GB/s) or Gen 2 (3GB/s) drives.



“PC storage technology has advanced to the point where consumers can have nearly instantaneous interactions with the data and content stored on their computers,” said Mladen Luksic, SATA-IO president. “Devices based on the SATA USM specification will provide the portability to extend that experience beyond the PC to the consumer electronics arena, allowing users to share their content wherever they go.” SATA-IO expects the USM specification to be completed and available later this year. A complimentary specification defining the size requirements for USM devices and CE slots is being developed by the Small Form Factor Committee (SFF) and should also be available this year. Consumer electronics manufacturers are already embracing the USM specification. SATA-IO and Seagate Technology are partnering to sponsor the first public demonstration of USM prototype devices at CES television, notebook computer, DVR and docking station sharing content via a USM module. The showcase will feature prospective products from Antec, GEIC, Hi-Sense, Ionics,

Thermaltake and more.

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About SATA-IO

Formed in September 2004, the SATA-IO is the International Organization that owns and manages Serial ATA specifications as open industry standards. The organization defines and implements the Serial ATA storage specification as the industry’s storage needs evolve. It is ded icated to sustaining the quality, integrity and dissemination of the SATA technology by maintaining the specifications, promoting and marketing the benefits of the technology and creating future interface features and specifications that carry storage into the next decade. Additional information about the organization, its nearly 200

Participating companies and membership is available at www.sata-io.org.


About Seagate

Seagate is the worldwide leader in hard disk drives and storage solutions. Learn more at http://www.seagate.com.