Industry group develops USB 3.0 specification

Industry players including IntelCorp. have formed the USB 3.0 Promoter Groupto create a superspeed personal USB interconnectthat can deliver over 10 times the speed of today's connection.

The technology, also developed by HP, MicrosoftCorp., NEC Corp., NXP Semiconductors and Texas Instruments Inc., will target fast sync-and-go transfer applications in the PC, consumer and mobile segments that are necessary as digital media become ubiquitous and file sizes increase up to and beyond 25Gbytes.

"USB 3.0 is the next logical step for the PC's most popular wired connectivity," said Jeff Ravencraft, technology strategist with Intel and president of the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). "The digital era requires high-speed performance and reliable connectivity to move the enormous amounts of digital content now present in everyday life. USB 3.0 will meet this challenge while maintaining the ease-of-use experience that users have come to love and expect from any USB technology."

The USB 3.0 standard will create a backward-compatible standard with the same ease-of-use and plug and play capabilities of previous USB technologies. Targeting over 10x performance increase, the technology will draw from the same architecture of wired USB. Moreover, the USB 3.0 specification will be optimized for low power and improved protocol efficiency. USB 3.0 ports and cabling will be designed to enable backward compatibility as well as future-proofing for optical capabilities.

"With the proliferation of Hi-Speed USB in a wide number of market segments, including personal computing, consumer electronics and mobility, we anticipate that USB 3.0 will rapidly become the de facto standard as the replacement of USB 2.0 ports in applications where higher bandwidth is valued," said Greg Hantak, VP of worldwide ASIC, TI.

Intel formed the USB 3.0 Promoter Group with the understanding that the USB-IF would act as the trade association for the USB 3.0 specification. A completed USB 3.0 specification is expected by the first half of 2008. USB 3.0 implementations will initially be in the form of discrete silicon.

The USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced its commitment to preserve the existing USB device class driver infrastructure and investment, look-and-feel and ease-of-use of USB while continuing to expand this great technology's capabilities.

Industry players including IntelCorp. have formed the USB 3.0 Promoter Groupto create a superspeed personal USB interconnectthat can deliver over 10 times the speed of today's connection.

The technology, also developed by HP, MicrosoftCorp., NEC Corp., NXP Semiconductors and Texas Instruments Inc., will target fast sync-and-go transfer applications in the PC, consumer and mobile segments that are necessary as digital media become ubiquitous and file sizes increase up to and beyond 25Gbytes.

"USB 3.0 is the next logical step for the PC's most popular wired connectivity," said Jeff Ravencraft, technology strategist with Intel and president of the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). "The digital era requires high-speed performance and reliable connectivity to move the enormous amounts of digital content now present in everyday life. USB 3.0 will meet this challenge while maintaining the ease-of-use experience that users have come to love and expect from any USB technology."

The USB 3.0 standard will create a backward-compatible standard with the same ease-of-use and plug and play capabilities of previous USB technologies. Targeting over 10x performance increase, the technology will draw from the same architecture of wired USB. Moreover, the USB 3.0 specification will be optimized for low power and improved protocol efficiency. USB 3.0 ports and cabling will be designed to enable backward compatibility as well as future-proofing for optical capabilities.

"With the proliferation of Hi-Speed USB in a wide number of market segments, including personal computing, consumer electronics and mobility, we anticipate that USB 3.0 will rapidly become the de facto standard as the replacement of USB 2.0 ports in applications where higher bandwidth is valued," said Greg Hantak, VP of worldwide ASIC, TI.

Intel formed the USB 3.0 Promoter Group with the understanding that the USB-IF would act as the trade association for the USB 3.0 specification. A completed USB 3.0 specification is expected by the first half of 2008. USB 3.0 implementations will initially be in the form of discrete silicon.

The USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced its commitment to preserve the existing USB device class driver infrastructure and investment, look-and-feel and ease-of-use of USB while continuing to expand this great technology's capabilities.