eSATA Going Bus Powered

For those that don't know, eSATA is a version of the SATA connector that works externally, allowing you the same speeds of an internal drive with all the hassle of USB, except it requires a separate power cord. Bus powered refers to ability to transfer the necessary amount of power to operate the drive over the single connection, much like a lot of the newer bus-powered external USB hard drives.

But all that is soon to change as there is a new eSATA standard in the works that would make eSATA a bus-powered connection as well. There are more and more desktops and motherboards coming with eSATA built in, and I've even seen a few laptops with the connection integrated, so SATA speeds with the convenience of USB is something I like the idea of a lot.

The standard was announced by the SATA-IO or Serial ATA International Organization and the standard is being called Power Over eSATA. They expect it to provide enough power to power a 2.5" HDD and they say the technology could be integrated into products as early as the end of this year.

eSATA to shed the power plug [via crave]