Why so expensive +

WD External Drives External Drives for Mac
5

If I recall correctly, Firewire devices are more expensive because Apple owns Firewire patents and licensing, so OEMs that use it must pay Apple for the connector, and in turn those costs are passed to people.

That’s why USB 3.0 devices tend to be cheaper than Firewire 800 devices even though USB 3.0 mops the floor with FW800 (4.8Gb/s [600MB/s] vs. 800Mb/s [100MB/s]).

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