How To Use The ExpressCard/34 In Your MacBook Pro
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I recently purchased a MacBook Pro, and I like it a lot. It was a bit slow with the included 512MB of RAM, but I purchased 2GB thru the OWC deal and now it is great in every way. Well…almost every way. I just wasn’t sure how I was going to use the new ExpressCard/34 slot. I used to keep a CF reader in my Powerbook, but that’s not possible with this size since the card is actually wider than the slot itself. I wondered about the options.
So far, I have found only four cards that were ExpressCard/34 and compatible with Mac OS X. I will list those below. If you know of more, please let me know or leave a link in the comments. I’d like to make this a full list of ExpressCard/34 possibilities:
- 2-Port NitroAV FireWire800/1394b Professional Interface Adapter - This card will let you add 2 FireWire 800 ports to your MacBook Pro. With the FireWire 800 protocol you can get transfer rates of 100, 200, 400, and 800 Mbps.
- exp 8 in 1 - This card is compliant with the ExpressCard USB 2.0 standard and supports SD, MMC, RSMMC, MMCplus, MMCmobile, M.S., M.S. PRO, and xD cards.
- ExpressCard 5 in 1 Card Reader - Supporting HS (480 Mbps) and FS (12 Mbps) transfers, this will read Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Secure Digital, Multi Media and xD-Picture cards.
- SeriTek/2SM2-E - This seems to be a very powerful card that performs well in reviews. It extends SATA’s astounding performance beyond the desktop by supporting two 3.5″ SATA hard disk drives. This provides 1.5Gbps and 3.0Gbps data transfer rates; compatible with SATA-I/1.5Gbps or SATA-II/3.0Gbps hard disk drives. Wow.
- eSATA 34 - The eSATA 34 module provides a 2.5Gbps ExpressCard/34 interface on the host side and dual, fully compliant SATA II 3Gbps ports on the device side. Currently its only for Windows, but as of July 7th (according
to their website) they have beta drivers for intel Macs. - TVBook Pro -TVBook Pro is a TV card specifically designed for Apple’s MacBook Pro. Enjoy live digital TV on your MacBook Pro, record to your hard drive, edit your favourite shows and burn them onto DVDs.
- eFilm ExpressCard/34 CompactFlash Adaptor -IThe ExpressCard 34 enables the fastest data transfer from a CompactFlash memory card to the new Apple MacBook Pro and PC laptops with an ExpressCard slot. It works in both the 54 mm and 34 mm ExpressCard slots and can transfer your data up to 20 MB per second.
- Gigabit Ethernet 34mm ExpressCard - The PEG34m is a 10/100/1000M Ethernet ExpressCard, which is specifically designed to plug into a MacBook Pro (or other Windows desktop or laptop) equipped with an ExpressCard 34mm slot. The PEG34m provides throughput and connectivity at gigabit speeds up to 1000 Mbps (1Gbps) raw bandwidth, that is 100 times faster than the original Ethernet, yet is compatible with existing Ethernets.
- Flash Memory Drives - With this card you can add a flash hard drive to your machine. Currently, it goes up to 8 GB.
Note: Novatel has announced the XV620 and XS620 cards for EV-DO, but they have not yet been released. They will work with Verizon and Sprint, respectively. Get the latest on this here.
So, what did I miss? What adapters are you waiting for?
July 2nd, 2006 at 3:24 pm
I’ve never had a Powerbook before, so my new MBP brings me into the world of expansion cards. What is the most common use of the expansion slot, and what card should I get that would be useful for an average user? I don’t need card readers. How about posting prices for the said cards?
July 7th, 2006 at 11:18 am
Sure would like to buy one of those card readers, but where? I am also waiting on the Verizon card to show up.
July 8th, 2006 at 6:34 pm
Cingular hadn’t announced an ExpressCard/34 solution yet. They’re still selling PCMCIA cards. WTF?
August 20th, 2006 at 9:12 am
I just checked with Verizon and they expect ExpressCard/34 to arrive in 1 week at their Meridian, Idaho office.
August 29th, 2006 at 5:24 am
Some adaptor with one FW800, another FW400 and extra USB.2s, all powered…
Wouldn’t that be useful?
Gr.
Floris
August 31st, 2006 at 3:58 pm
Is there an adaptor for expresscard/34 to compactflash?
I used the pcmia slot on the powerbook to transfer images from the compactflash card to the hard disk. I have been told to get a firewire card reader for the macbook pro, but wouldn’t it be a faster transfer rate through the expresscard slot?
September 8th, 2006 at 12:29 pm
I have to agree with Johan. The compact flash adapter (and SD card) are the BIGGEST oops in Apple book omissions. I used to dump my 1 gig cards onto the PowerBook when I needed the emergency storage, and a cardreader took care of the SD cards. So my Nikon (check out raw image storage sizes) and Canon videocam were happy! Now we have to handcuff our cameras and vids to the book by cable!!?? The first company that comes out with this adaptation will be the dog! Sign me up now!!!
September 19th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
Does anyone know if the TVBook Pro will work in the US? right now the EyeTV Hybrid is looking pretty good - but you can’t beat Mialga’s form factor (and included antenna).
October 1st, 2006 at 8:55 am
I am using the new XV620 card to respond to provide this note and it has served me well during it’s first month of use in Milwaukee, Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City and Columbus, GA. It works well albeit slower than when in the office using Airport Express and Cable.
the only thing I find a little frustrating is that you can not close your computer lid and still be connected when reopening. but it is actually not just the issue of not still being connected. Its worse in that you can not just tell the software to reconnect. You actually have to restart your computer. So the key is to ALWAYS disconnect the unit in the VZAccess Manager controller and remove your ZV620 Express Card from the slot. Once I figured that out I have had no problems and found the Verizon service to be acceptably fast even when downloading files in the 4-5MB range (for me these are usually PowerPoint or PDF files).
One other note: I have found the multi-port flash card reader from SanDisk to work very well via the USB slot and have not missed my card slot reader I used to use with my old Titanium Mac.
October 9th, 2006 at 9:51 am
Any news if their will be a PCMIA to ExpressCard converter??
October 13th, 2006 at 5:37 am
Belkin has a few ExpressCard offerings that are compatible with OSX, including a combo USB2.0/Firewire card. While they do offer a Gigabit Ethernet Expresscard it is not currently Mac compatible, which is unfortunate - I am waiting for this to appear on the market as I need a second Ethernet port for my MacBook Pro.
Sewell technology is currently testing a PCMCIA to ExpressCard adapter made by Duel Systems. No word on Mac compatibility yet, they are currently in beta testing. Supposedly available in November last I checked.
October 17th, 2006 at 10:14 am
What about a GPS card?
November 7th, 2006 at 4:16 pm
I haven’t been able to find one, or there just might now be one, but an expresscard/34 with a dvi out would be nice. vga out wouldn’t be too bad but dvi would be ultimate. if anyone finds one let me know, i would like to have a 3 monitor set up asap without that dualhead2go crap. thanks!
November 10th, 2006 at 11:38 am
Belkin Mutlimedia reader
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=278313
Belkin Firewire 800
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=278329
Belkin Firewire400/USB 2.0
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=278321
ProMax SATAII card
http://www2.promax.com/ProMax-Express-34-Card-with-Port-Multiplier
December 15th, 2006 at 3:45 pm
They are starting to come in more often now. Please feel free to add any to teh comments if you’d like.
December 24th, 2006 at 9:24 pm
I found your site extremely useful. I was looking for how to get TV with my Macbook Pro 2.0Ghz, 15″, and stumbled upon the TVBook Pro. Amazing! I might write a future piece here on the results
December 27th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
I’m looking for a card that acts as a dock. The 15″ MacBook Pro I have looks like an eight legged spider sitting on my desk. KVM with audio would be great.
January 3rd, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Luke, does the TVBook Pro work in the US, if so can a person plug in a hd cable line into the card and get hd quality over the mac… Anyone else who knows the answer please post. Im sure im not the only mac owner dying to turn there MBP into a TiVo and actually utilize the express card port. Futher anyone know if a gps card or anything gps that would allow a MBP owner to get on the internet from any location in the world or US
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:12 pm
I agree with Allen on this…..My MBP also looks like a spider on my desktop….i wish there was was a docking station for this……thats the only thing apple is missing…..
Besides making us wait longer for tiger…i know its worth the wait and they just plain pwn but it still is just a pain….
January 24th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
This is from the TVBook Pro website:
Q: Does TVBook Pro work in the USA?
A: TVBook Pro is not compatible with the ATSC standard used in the USA/North America and Canada. It supports the DVB-T standard instead, used in Europe and most parts of Asia. North American users who which to receive digital TV should consider TVMini HD instead.
I would love a card that could get FTA digital TV in the US, or had a HD or cable input. Looks like this card won’t cut it in the US yet.
January 30th, 2007 at 9:45 am
I[’m really interested in getting one of those SATA cards, doe anyone have bench tests they did on how fast the drives are, I’m mostly wondering is the SATA going to be as fast connected to the Powerbook as it would be in a G5 or Mac Pro
February 5th, 2007 at 1:56 am
So how we get wireless internet on the go if no one makes a compatible card for this slot?
Al
July 7th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Hey Paul, I am highly doubting anyone will make an adapter to go from pcmcia to expresscard/34 only because it would be pointless. I have done a lot of research on the expresscard/34 interface and it is based on PCI-express standards, while PCMCIA is based on PCI standards, so If you were to get an adapter like this you would more than likely see a decrease in performance compared to if you just purchased the PCMCIA version of whatever card you are looking for. Also I do not think it is even possible to make this type of adapter because they are entirely different standards.
July 10th, 2007 at 9:45 am
So, no CF reader yet?!? And no integrated CF card slot after the update. And pro photographers are supposed to be using MBP’s… I really wonder. (Yes, I got 17″ MBP and didn’t even think this would be a problem… and now I’m still using old Fujitsu laptop with integrated CF reader…)
July 17th, 2007 at 4:08 am
Has anyone managed to get the new Spectec SD GPS card : http://www.spectec.com.tw/sdg810.htm working on mac book pro..
ive obviously got mine plugged into a 18 in 1 express card reader, inserted into my express card slot on MBP … there is the option to utililise its built in bluetooth facility.. however when it asks me for the pass phrase/code… on entering the usual default 0000… it still will not pair.. stating communications failure.
Anyone had any better luck..
I will continue researching and post an update if i figure it out..
regards
Keen techno junkie !!
October 4th, 2007 at 2:19 am
I’ve just seen the Giffin card which seems to handle most memory cards. CF is the exception as it is apparently wider than the ExpressCard slot.
http://www.macuser.co.uk/macuser/reviews/120420/griffin-expresscard-34-card-reader.html
October 5th, 2007 at 9:48 am
hi!
i’m also intrested in the expresscard/34 acessories.
is there any express card that acts like RAM?
thanks
October 6th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
I found a Multimedia Memory Card Reader for the ExpressCard/34 slot on the internet that says it’s compatible with MacBook Pro. It’s by Sonnet Technologies (www.sonnettetech.com). I haven’t purchased one yet, but it seems to support all the major memory cards.
I’ll probably do some due dilligence and compare this with other products before purchasing. I’ll probably also ask around also - maybe at Fry’s Electronics and people I know with good digital cameras.
January 30th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Check this out. http://www.magma.com/products/pciexpress/expressbox1/pdf/Specs(70-02360-33).pdf