AIT-3 was first released in 2003 with a capacity of 100 GB native and a transfer rate of 12 MB/s on tape with a length of 230m. It is WORM capable allowing for better performance in archiving related tasks. An Ex variant (AIT-3Ex) was released in 2006 that had a native capacity of 150 GB and a transfer rate of 18 MB/s. AIT-3 tapes have the R-MIC chip technology and are a reliable and robust medium for backup data storage. Another key feature for AIT products is that many generations are forward and backward compatible. Related products for AIT-3 tape cartridges are AIT-1, AIT-2, AIT-4, AIT-5, AIT-1 Turbo, AIT Cleaning Cartridge, AIT Super Tape, AIT Barcode Labels and AIT Empty Cases.