Rumor: Apple’s MacBook Air SuperDrive exclusivity explained

So the rumor is that the MacBook Air didn’t just jeer off the beaten path of an Intel ultra-portable at the processor stop, but also at the USB stop. Basically the reason the external SuperDrive will only work with the MacBook Air is due to power requirements that only the MacBook Air’s supercharged USB port can supply.

That kind of makes sense since companies have been ignoring the power standards section of the USB 2.0 standard for quite sometime, and there isn’t any external power adapter for the external SuperDrive. But it seems a little elementary for Apple, I mean how hard is it for someone to cut the cable on the external SuperDrive and splice in either a second USB port for more power or an external power source altogether.

That could be the secret behind the $99 SuperDrive, and it would kind of make since when you consider that with only one port, people will probably be using USB docks that will require more power as well. But, like I said, it just seems like a little too simple of an explanation.

[via electronista]