One reality about the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface standard is that it is not progressing as quickly as it could. The main reason behind this is that chipsets from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices don't have native support for the interface, nor will they gain it before 2011. On the other hand, this fact can be seen as somewhat favorable for creators of third-party solutions, which can expand their business plans and get higher revenues from selling expansion cards.

TRENDNet decided it was time to say its piece and unleashed a pair of products that provide two USB 3.0 ports each. Going by the names of TU3-H2EC and TU3-H2PIE, they are an ExpressCard and a PCI Express x 1 adapter, respectively, which means the company is ready to give not just desktops, but also certain laptops access to 5Gbps speeds.

The two electronics employ USB 3.0 controller chips developed by NEC and are backward compatible with flash drives, external HDDs, enclosures, camcorders and any other product designed for USB 2.0. Of course, in such cases, the maximum rates will be limited by the 480Mbps bottleneck.

“USB 3.0 is like HD television - once you experience it, you won’t go back,” stated Zak Wood, Director of Global Marketing for TRENDnet.

“The tremendous speed advantage of USB 3.0 (5Gbps) versus USB 2.0 (480Mbps) is driving strong consumer adoption. TRENDnet’s user friendly adapters upgrade existing computers to high speed 5Gbps USB 3.0,” he added.

The TU3-H2PIE will plug into any PCI Express x1 slot and has a 4-pin power port that, connected to an internal power supply, will provide the power required by the devices plugged into it. The ExpressCard TU3-H2EC will also address this need. They are priced at $49 and $59, respectively, and, according to their maker, will 'shortly' become available for order from online and retail partners.