RSS'SuperSpeed' USB 3.0 expected to be widespread by 2010
By Jacqueline Emigh | Published November 19, 2008, 2:04 PM
A much faster USB specification is finally about to be implemented, replacing the eight-year-old USB 2.0 standard for connecting printers, mobile phones, drives, and other consumer devices.
The USB 3.0 Promoters Group this week officially confirmed a new USB specification with a maximum speed touted as ten times higher than the currently implemented USB 2.0.
First released back in the year 2000, the USB 2.0 standard for connecting mobile phones, printers, external drives, and other devices provides a top bandwidth range of 480 Mbps.
The new USB 3.0, on the other hand, is billed as supporting speeds of up to 5.0 Gbps.
Version 1 of USB 3.0 -- which carries the commercial title "SuperSpeed USB" -- has now been submitted to the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the governing body of the USB.
"Today's consumers are using rich media and large digital files that [have] to be easily and quickly transferred from and to devices and vice versa. SuperSpeed USB meets the needs of everyone from the tech-savvy executive to the average home user," contended Jeff Ravencraft, president and chairman of USB-IF, in a statement.
The faster spec is expected to start showing up in controllers late next year and in consumer devices in 2010.
Video transfer, hard drives, SSDs will directly benefit.
And adoption should occur 'quickly' among manufacturers.
The same for wireless USB.
Its always fascinating to listen to some use the lowest common denominator consumer as a fundamental limitation to adoption. But these same folks can't see much advantage to the speed increases anyway - despite IEEE1394/Firewire400/800 already trumping the inherent limitations in USB2. (Anyone who needs faster more robust I/O will benefit!)
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|Slightly off-topic here:
I meant to make a point about the MacBook ages ago.
Someone said you can just get an expansion card with FireWire.
You can't. There's no expansion port on the MacBook; only on the Pro.
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|My post has nothing to do with what platform you use!
But its fascinating to see such a preoccupation with the new low end MacBook...
You can get an adapter for any unit with a PCMCIA or Expresscard slot.
Apple has determined that they are not outfitting the MacBook for Expresscard or IEEE1394. Nor USB3 or wireless USB. And.....?
If you need those capabilities that cannot be accommodated, buy another machine!!!
Currently, if you need more robust capabilities than USB2, you need a Firewire 400/800 capable platform.
What is so complex about that? And why does USB3 have anything to do with MS or Apple?
(Besides, if you want to fault Apple, their release of new MacBooks in the eve of the release of Nehalem and the incredible performance increase and lower power requirements afforded without an upgrade path is amazingly negligent at best! I/O is the least of their problems. At best, they are a stopgap measure that will be dramatically eclipsed within a year. Not the best investment! ;-)
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|lol
kinda random.
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|"Slightly off-topic here:
I meant to make a point about the MacBook ages ago."
"My post has nothing to do with what platform you use!"
I didn't say it did.
Glad to see you can read.
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|You might try it sometime.
And then you can work on the "meaning" of words.
But, baby steps, baby steps....
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|You replied to foxyfyre. You took your chances. :)
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|The faster spec is expected to start showing up in controllers late next year and in consumer devices in 2010.
..and expect widespread adoption that same year? How are they defining that?
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|"..and expect widespread adoption that same year? How are they defining that?"
As for USB2, I would expect USB3 to take a year or 3 to make inroads. Laptops won't be upgradeable and desktops will need an add-in card.
It'll take time (some years?) for widespread adoption, and I can't see many advantages for most users. Other system bottlenecks will largely negate any noticeable improvement.
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|"and I can't see many advantages for most users."
Copying/cutting from external hard drives will be sped up to a sensible speed.
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|depends on their other hardwhere...
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|Yeah, like USB3 compliance! Duh!
Compared to the inherent limitations of USB2, which most are still not aware of, USB3 will feature dedicated IN and OUT lanes, instead of multiplexed I/O, increased power management featuring lower power usage where links go to a lower power state when idle.
Additionally the host schedules all transactions without polling as is now employed in USB2. Additionally, hosts and devices only transmit when they have data, with unlimited bursting capability.
All significant changes over the convenient, but rather dismal, performance characteristics of USB2 that only succeeds in reaching ~1/2 of its published transfer rate.
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|Are they going to make it backward compatible with USB 2.0? That would seem hard to do. And the dedicated lanes sound as though they need additional conductors anyway.
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|" can't see many advantages for most users."
Thumbdrives???
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