USB 3.0 for Macbook pro? Isn't it 2012?

" I realize there are cards that you are able to plug into this expresscard slot in order to achieve USB 3.0 standards."

Where did you get that info from? If the Mac is not set for usb 3.0 then nothing you plug in will change that. You want usb 3.0 then wait unitl it becomes available like everyone else.

http://www.lacie.com/more/index.htm?id=10112

This is incorrect, it is absolutely possible to get a USB3.0 ExpressCard. LaCie even makes one that is guaranteed to be compatible with Mac, as wjosten linked to below.

To reply to the original question though, it should theoretically be possible to do it through the Thunderbolt port. As far as I know there isn't currently a Thunderbolt to USB3.0 adapter of any kind, but I'm sure there will be in the near future. I also know that there is a Thunderbolt to ExpressCard adapter available on the market (Manufactured by a company called Sonnet), which would allow you to use the USB3.0 card mentioned ealier.

Hope this helps!

I can see Apple upgrading their USB2.0 to 3.0 at some point in the future, but not any time soon. USB 3.0 devices just do not take a lot of market share, so the increased price of updating the hardware (that gets passed onto the consumer) is not worth it. Apple never believed that USB 3.0 would take off, and it really hasnt. But seriously, they should take the hit and just upgrade their new products to USB 3.0. Its the same physical shape and size, why not?

They fully adopted and implemnted Thunderbolt, and for truly faster performance and data integrity checking they want you to go to Thunderbolt. Even that is slow to take off. Thunderbolt will be on non-Apple products also, so if that ever really fully takes shape then thunderbolt will be the way to go. See this article for PC with both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt coming.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20053639-64.html

Products manufactured today are still USB 2.0 for the most part, just because of current product out there versus manufacturing cost.

You can buy and use a USB 3.0 device, as it it backwards compatible with USB 2.0, just not at the 3.0 speeds.

For MBPs that don't have ExpressCard slots, USB 3.0 will never be an option unless someone makes a Thunderbolt-to-USB 3.0 adapter (I have no idea how technically feasible that is). And for MBPs that don't have ExpressCard slots OR Thunderbolt, USB 3.0 is out of the question.

I woudn't hold your breath for USB 3.0:

Anyone disappointed by the absence of USB 3.0 in MacBook Pro needs to appreciate that Thunderbolt, which even graces the 13-inch model, blows the doors off USB 3.0.

Regardless of what you read elsewhere, Thunderbolt is flat-out amazing. The second-generation Intel Core CPUs, especially the quad-core Core i7, have the headroom to drive much faster I/O. Apple demonstrated Thunderbolt by showing Final Cut Pro, its high-end video and film editing software, working in real time with four simultaneous streams of HD content fed by a Thunderbolt storage array. Up to six Thunderbolt devices can be daisy-chained together, all through the tiny Mini DisplayPort connector.

http://www.infoworld.com/d/computer-hardware/thunderbolt-macbook-pro-the-last-no tebook-youll-ever-need-169

Nope, sir. First you get this:

http://www.sonnettech.com/product/echoexpresscard34thunderbolt.html

And then this:

http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10535

...my question is why do you need a 3.0 usb port? although it's nice to have, i would say 2.0 is sufficient...

...if you do achieve usb 3.0, then I'm betting on your internal fan whirling at critical speeds... (just a theory)

Looking at the page for the Sonnet adapter you've linked, I see that Sonnet doesn't list USB 3.0 among the kinds of cards that can be used with it (SxS, SDXC, CF, FW800 and eSATA). Do you think that's an oversight on Sonnet's part?

Okay, so Thunderbolt blows the doors off of USB 3.0. I'd sure like to be able to charge my iPad when it's plugged into my Macbook Pro. How does Thunderbolt answer that? Having both would be nice, no?

... I'd sure like to be able to charge my iPad when it's plugged into my Macbook Pro. How does Thunderbolt answer that?

10W is specified for power, identical to the existing iPad AC adapter:

http://www.apple.com/thunderbolt/

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC359LL/A

OrogenousZones wrote:

Okay, so Thunderbolt blows the doors off of USB 3.0. I'd sure like to be able to charge my iPad when it's plugged into my Macbook Pro. How does Thunderbolt answer that?

Thunderbolt doesn't have anything at all to do with that, nor does the speed of USB 3. Your USB 2-equipped Mac will charge your iPad just fine, and USB 3 wouldn't charge it any better or faster.

Eww, that is not correct. USB cannot charge an iPad. iPhone? Yes, but aniPad requires 10w of power which USB 2.0 does not carry. Actually the tech specs for USB 3.0 I believe have it at 5.4w, so ix-nay on USB 3.0 as well.

Apple Tech Support explained on the phone to me that my iPad is not charging when connected to my MacBook Pro's USB port preciesly because USB 2.0 doesn't have the power to do so.

OZones

On the contrary, the tech support rep who misinformed you was not correct. As I write this, my sleeping iPad's battery is charging from one of the USB 2.0 ports on my late-2008 unibody Macbook Pro. Yes, its charge level really is increasing — I've verified that by waking it briefly every few minutes to check the charge level indicator. You may not be able to charge an iPad while you use it, but you can indeed charge it when it's shut down or sleeping, provided that your MBP is awake and no other Apple device requiring more than 500mA is connected to its other USB port(s). Read this article for more info:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4049

FYI, while this is going on my MBP's second USB port is powering the USB hub in my 27" LED Cinema Display. But the two devices plugged into that hub both have their own AC adapters and are currently turned off anyway, so the hub isn't pulling any significant power from the computer.

Since I began writing this post, my iPad's charge level has risen from 71% to 76%.