New FireWire 800 Beta & Bilingual Cables From FirewireDirect

by , 7:00 AM EDT, May 30th, 2003

FirewireDirect has officially released the FireWire 800 cables we mentioned in another product announcement last week. The company has released both "beta" and "bilingual" cables (see the press release below for more information on those terms), allowing users to connect both FireWire 800 devices and legacy FireWire devices. From FirewireDirect:

FirewireDirect.com, Inc. has announced the introduction of a series of FireWire 800 / 1394b cables designed for both legacy FireWire / 1394a devices and the new class of faster 800Mbps FireWire devices. The company is opening their cable line up to 800Mbps with the sale of a family of FireWire 800 cables that include "beta" and "bilingual" versions of cabling fully compatible with the new standard and ready to support your existing FireWire devices as well. 

"Beta" refers to true FireWire 800 cables, with new 1394b 9-pin connectors on both ends and designed for connecting new 800 devices and peripherals to 800 equipped computers. 

"Bilingual" refers to cables used to connect legacy FireWire to the new FireWire 800, and have a high speed 800Mbps connector on one end and either a 4-pin iLink connector or a standard 6-pin FireWire connector on the other. FireWire 800 is backwards compatible, but legacy devices connecting to FireWire 800 ports will require these special cables. 

The cables are priced at US$24.95 for 2 meter lengths, with bundle pricing available with other FireWire 800 devices. You can find more information on the cables at FirewireDirect's Web site.

FireWireDirect.com