Kangaru Solutions have announced what they're claiming is the first ever eSATA flash drive. The double-ended e-Flash drive has a USB 2.0 connector on one side and an eSATA connector on the other, offering users either the paltry 480MB/s of dull old USB or the blistering 3Gb/s of everyone's favorite external SATA interface. Of course, those are just theoretical speeds: when you dig into the spec sheet you see the e-Flash is slightly less impressive than the headlines might suggest.
Despite the potential speed of a 3Gb/s eSATA interface, the e-Flash actually only supports up to 75MB/s read rates and up to 25MB/s write rates. It's not explained, but it's entirely possible that the flash memory used in the drive is the limiting factor here, rather than the connection.
That means that while the read rates are over double the maximum USB 2.0 speed offered (up to 30MB/s), the write speed is only 5M/s more (25MB/s for eSATA, versus 20MB/s for USB 2.0). Still, you probably want the Kangaru e-Flash for bragging rights more than you really need a significant speed boost.
Kangaru are selling the e-Flash now, priced from $84.95 for the 16GB model or $119.95 for the 32GB version. A 64GB version is planned for January 2009.