ExpressCard

ExpressCard, formerly NEWCARD, is an interface to connect peripheral devices to a computer, usually a. The ExpressCard specifies the design of slots built into the computer and of s to insert in the slots. The cards contain s and sometimes connectors for external devices. The ExpressCard standard replaced PC Card and CardBus (also known as PCMCIA) standards.

History
Originally developed by the (PCMCIA), the ExpressCard standard is maintained by the. The host device supports PCI Express, USB 2.0 (including Hi-Speed), and USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed) (ExpressCard 2.0 only) connectivity through the ExpressCard slot; cards can be designed to use any of these modes. The cards are. The ExpressCard standard is an by  definition, and can be obtained from the USB-IF website free of charge.

ExpressCards can connect a variety of devices to a computer including s (sometimes called connect cards), IEEE 1394 (FireWire) connectors, USB connectors, Ethernet network ports, Serial ATA storage devices, solid-state drives, external enclosures for desktop-size PCI Express graphics cards and other peripheral devices, s (NIC), s, (CAC) readers, and s.

Form factors
The ExpressCard standard specifies two form factors, ExpressCard/34 (34 millimetres (1.3 in) wide) and ExpressCard/54 (54 mm (2.1 in) wide, in an L-shape) wide, in an L-shape)—the connector is the same on both (34 mm wide). Standard cards are 75 mm (3.0 in) long (10.6 mm (0.42 in) shorter than CardBus) and 5 mm (0.20 in) thick, but may be thicker on sections that extend outside the standard form for, sockets, etc. With its 75 mm standard length, the ExpressCard will protrude 5 mm over the holder's surface (e.g. laptop surface), whereas a variant with 70 mm length remains level with the surface.

Apple models with ExpressCard/34 support

 * 15" MacBook Pro (later replaced ExpressCard with SD card slot)
 * 17" MacBook Pro