VIA Labs gets new VL701 chip certified as first USB 3.0 controller for hard drives

VIA Labs has been able to boast of being the first in a number of designs over the last couple of years. The VL701 Low-power USB 3.0 SATA Bridge Controller is the design to get USB-IF Bus-Powered certification for regular hard drives.

"Featuring an industry-first fully-integrated 5V switching regulator, the VIA Labs VL701 Low-Power USB 3.0 to SATA Bridge is a single-chip solution that achieves the highest power efficiency while offering users transfer rates up to 10 times that of USB 2.0."

VIA Labs will be hoping for a lot of sales of the new chip:

"Cal-Comp Electronics and Communications, a leading Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) and Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) that contracts with many name-brand customers worldwide, adopted and integrated the USB-IF Certified VL701 it into its upcoming USB 3.0 external storage products."
-Source.