Things to know about USB 3.0

USB is one of the most successful technologies in the computer industry when equipped for 3 billion devices in 2008 alone. The latest generation products of this communication standard are beginning to emerge .

Seagate first performed SuperSpeed ​​USB 3.0 in the CES consumer electronics show earlier this year but it is expected that by 2012, this port will become popular.

What is USB 3.0?

Called SuperSpeed ​​USB (USB Super Speed), USB 3.0 is the latest generation of connectivity between computers and peripherals (cameras, phones, music players, external hard drives, mice, and keyboards). .). It will replace the current Hi-Speed ​​USB 2.0.

Hard Drive XS 3.0 with Freecom's USB 3.0 standard.

Speed ​​of USB 3.0

USB 3.0 theoretically can achieve a transfer rate of 5 Gbps, 10 times faster than the standard 2.0 (480 Mbps), supporting copying 25 GB files in just 70 seconds while 2.0 takes 14 minutes to perform the same task. Even, people will have to wait about 9 hours if they still use USB 1.1.

USB 3.0 is suitable for exchanging large-size images, MPEG-4 video or for backing up data to an external hard drive.

USB 3.0 works 2-way

Unlike USB 2.0, data can only be transmitted in one direction at the same time, new generation USB can read / write data at the same time due to up to 8 connections and USB 2.0 only 4 (2 connections) to receive data and 2 to export data).

USB 3.0 saves power

USB 3.0 does not constantly "communicate" with the original device, which only signals when the data is transmitted, thus consuming less energy than its "descendant".

Compatible with USB 2.0

Although USB 3.0 requires operating on new hardware and cables to maximize performance, the standard is still compatible with USB 2.0 devices.

USB 3.0 products

There are already a number of USB 3.0 support products like NEC PD720200 chipset, Point Gray HD camcorder, Buffalo's SuperSpeed ​​USB hard drive, Freecom's Hard Drive XS 3.0 external hard drive, USB 3.0 circuit board of sample Asus .

NEC PD720200.

All of these products are on display at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF 2009), taking place September 22-24 in San Francisco (USA). Research firm InStat predicts the new standard will account for 25% of the USB market in 2013.