The specifications for USB 3.0, also known as "USB
SuperSpeed", were unveiled this week – bumping transfer rate up 10 times from current
USB 2.0 cables. It's about time; we've only been waiting 8 years for the
upgrade.
The Universal Serial Bus connector, or USB as it's commonly
known, should be familiar to anyone who uses a computer. It is used for
connecting plug-and-play devices to a computer, to transfer data, or power low-watt
devices. Most current wired mice and keyboards run off of USB as well as
printers, external hard drives, iPods, and many other devices. The connector
format is so popular, as of this announcement, over 10 billion USB devices have
been shipped.
Digital Video Connections 101 looked at USB as way to
transfer video from one device to another, but noted that with USB 2.0 there
wasn't enough bandwidth to watch video because the data speed wasn't fast
enough to play HD-video in real time. Well, all of that is about to change when
USB 3.0 hits the market.
USB 3.0 Specs
USB 3.0 raises the speed rating up to 4.8Gbps, which can transfer a full
1080p movie in under a minute. USB powered devices will now have more wattage
to work with as well. The only drawback is that USB 3.0 cables will be limited
to three meters, while older 2.0 cables had a maximum length of five meters.
See below to compare the speeds of each generation of USB:
- USB 1.0 - 1.5Mbps
- USB 2.0 - 480Mbps
- USB 3.0 - 4.8Gbps
The USB 3.0 plugs have five additional contacts that have
been squeezed into unused space on the connector. This leaves the original two
contacts in place, making the new connectors backwards compatible with older
versions of the standard. Older USB cables had fewer wires to transmit data so
they could only send or receive data at any given time. With the new five-wire
connector, two wires are dedicated to transmitting data while two wires are
dedicated to receiving data. The final wire is a grounding wire.
With the release of the new specification, the USB Promoter
Group has given hardware manufactures the green light to start developing devices
using the interface. Commercial controllers aren't expected to be available until
the second half of 2009, with the first consumer products showing up at the
beginning of 2010.
Firewire's Demise?
With the new speed boost, USB has leapfrogged over Firewire 800 – which
could mean the end of the line for USB's biggest competitor. Apple caused an
uproar last month when they removed Firewire from their newest MacBook
altogether. This was a huge surprise to supporters, as Firewire (IEEE 1394) technology
was developed by Apple in the first place. Although still available on the Mac
Pro, it looks like Firewire has one foot in the grave. IEEE 1394 isn't
completely done yet, as a new version of that spec is being worked on as well; the
only problem is that it will come in at 3.2Gbps, which is slower than USB 3.0.
What do you think? Is this the end of the line for Firewire?
Resources:
Data Transfer Rates to Jump With USB 3.0
FireWire not so hot alongside USB3.0
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Re: USB 3.0 Specifications Announced
