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Apr 12, 2001
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Transcend has introduced new JetDrive Lite expansion cards designed to increase the storage capacity of the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro with Retina display. The cards provide up to 128 GB of additional storage for less than $100.

jet-drive.jpg
The new JetDrive Lite expansion cards are tailor-made with a flush design that matches the case form factor of both the MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro models. This on-the-go storage solution offers read and write speeds of 95MB/s and 60MB/s, respectively.
With their substantial amount of storage space, Transcend's JetDrive Lite expansion cards provide plenty of space to backup, store, and carry personal documents, photos, movies, and music.

[...]

When inserted into the card slot of a compatible MacBook Pro with Retina display or MacBook Air, the low-profile JetDrive Lite will not stick out like an SD card and can be left in place for on-the-go storage.
The company offers separate products for the different MacBook models due to design differences between the machines. While the 13-inch MacBook Air and the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro can be upgraded to 64 GB and 128 GB capacities, the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is limited to 64 GB.

The JetDrive Lite Series of expansion cards are available now with prices starting at $49 for the 64 GB version and $99 for the 128 GB capacity card.

Article Link: Transcend Introduces JetDrive Lite Expansion Cards Up to 128GB for MacBook Air, Retina Macbook Pro
 
Nice! That could make a big difference. Now all we need is for Apple to support splitting the iTunes library across devices. That is audio(music) on one device video on another.
 
Nice! i already have a 64gb sandisk but might get this, its pretty cheap and i hope it has faster disk speeds.
 
yay! A product for a Mac without a $$$$$$ price tag!

Gonna order one and try it out
 
Does it in any way affect battery life having the card drive permanently "mounted"? (Assuming you don't write and read all the time from it)
 
Now what we need is iTunes etc. modified so that part of a library can be stored on an external card, or possibly two, and that the software stays well-behaved if that card isn't present. Also great for cheap portable Time Machine backup device.
 
I guess the Air design is here for awhile

I can't see Transcend introducing something like this if they thought there was a major overhaul to the Air's form. Too bad, I was hoping for a reduced-bezel update...

FWIW
DLM
 
People had been replacing their disk drives in macbooks for second hard drives or even second batteries for years, but it took this long to approach the SD slot in this same fashion?

Odd that this seems so novel.
 
They're trying to make it sound like it's a true extension for the internal SSD, but this is actually just a thumb drive, so those speeds are totally normal.
 
Now what we need is iTunes etc. modified so that part of a library can be stored on an external card, or possibly two, and that the software stays well-behaved if that card isn't present. Also great for cheap portable Time Machine backup device.

It can be done already although when the card is out part of the music library won't be accessable (obviously).
 
People had been replacing their disk drives in macbooks for second hard drives or even second batteries for years, but it took this long to approach the SD slot in this same fashion?

Odd that this seems so novel.

This isn't the first company to make something like this.
 
I can't see Transcend introducing something like this if they thought there was a major overhaul to the Air's form. Too bad, I was hoping for a reduced-bezel update...

FWIW
DLM

It doesn't matter what next generations bring, as long as it has an SD card slot. It is a very thin slot, so most likely it won't go away. Cameras use them.
 
ok, and how do we pull it out without using magical powers?

LOL. Yeah, notice how they don't show you *that* part. They do show you how easy it is to put it in though. But as we all know, it's always harder to pull it out than it is to put it in.
 
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