Sonnet Technologies today announced that it has reduced the price of its Tempo™ SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 to $199.95, a reduction of $100. The fastest 2-port eSATA controller available for ExpressCard slots, the SATA card supports sustained data throughput of up to 200 MB/sec. Unlike most other eSATA ExpressCard adapters, the Tempo SATA Pro supports 4 GB and 8 GB of RAM in MacBook® Pro computers.

“For on-location capture and editing of video content, media professionals require high-performance storage systems with enhanced speeds to support large files and a greater number of video streams,” said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies. “Unfortunately for Mac® users, most other eSATA ExpressCard adapters do not support a MacBook Pro with more than 2 GB of RAM. The Tempo SATA Pro is not subject to this limitation. We have dropped the price on our card to make it more accessible to MacBook Pro users who demand the higher speed required for mobile storage applications.”

Rob-ART Morgan, Web master and main “mad-scientist” of barefeats.com, a respected Mac product performance and review Web site, refers to the Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 as the “true” SATA ExpressCard. He describes other adapters as “so-called eSATA ExpressCards” because of their limited data transfer speeds.

Based on Sonnet’s acclaimed Tempo SATA E4P SATA host controller for desktop computers, the Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 enables users to connect up to 10 SATA hard drives to any compatible notebook computer with an ExpressCard/34 or ExpressCard/54 slot. The Tempo card is a perfect match for demanding, high-performance video editing. When used in combination with storage systems featuring two or more drives, the Sonnet card delivers significant gains in read and write data transfer speeds when compared to FireWire® 800 and early-generation eSATA ExpressCard adapters. Combined with the Sonnet Fusion F2, a 1-TB, portable, rugged, dual 2.5-inch drive storage unit (about the size of two CD cases), the Tempo SATA Pro achieves transfer rates of up to 190 MB/sec.

The Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 is compatible with MacBook Pro systems running Mac OS® 10.4+, as well as with notebooks running Windows Vista® and Windows® XP SP2.

More information about the Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34 host controller, Sonnet Technologies, and the company’s other products is available at www.sonnettech.com.