Advantages of USB 3.0

Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.0 is the latest specification of the USB standard, introduced in August 2008 by a partnership of developers led by Intel. USB 3.0 devices are expected to hit the market in 2009 and 2010. The much speedier protocol allows for data transfer speeds up to 5.0 gigabits per second (Gbits/s), or 625 Megabytes per second (MB/s), about ten times faster than the USB 2.0 protocol.

USB 1.0 technology was introduced in 1996 and has undergone several iterations, improving in transfer speed with each new standard. To date, the standards are as follows:
 

• USB 1.0 Low Speed 1.5 Mbits/s
   
• USB 1.1 Full Speed 12 Mbits/s (1.5 MB/s)
   
• USB 2.0 High Speed 480 Mbits/s (60 MB/s)
   
• UBS 3.0 SuperSpeed 5.0 Gbits/s (625 MB/s)

Human interface devices such as keyboards and mice require low bandwidth and can operate with USB 1.0, while subsequent protocols are used for data transfer between computers and peripheral devices such as external hard drives, printers, scanners, fax machines and backup units. Digital cameras, cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and game counsels are among the plethora of other electronic devices that also make use of USB.

With greater demands for transferring larger files at faster speeds, USB 3.0 promises to be a welcome improvement from 2.0 technology. For the first time, USB might not be a bottleneck for data transfer. Internal hard drives could be playing catch-up until "SATA 6Gb/s" (the next generation SATA with transfer rates of 6 gigabits per second) and solid-state drives become widespread. In the meantime, SATA drives with maximum data transfer rates of 300 MB/s (3 Gb/s) will only be half as fast as USB 3.0, assuming it matures to its full theoretical potential. According to Symwave, a semi-conductor business involved in USB 3.0 cable design and production, the technology might max out shy of its rated throughout, falling closer to 250-300 MB/s.

In either case, USB 3.0 will be a big improvement. Even homeowners are surpassing the one terrabyte boundary, with many at home and at work utilizing external drives for full drive backups. External enclosures using USB 3.0 would reduce backup times considerably, improving productivity and efficiency. Transferring graphic contents from digital movie and camera flash cards is another area where the average person will see a drastic improvement with USB 3.0.

USB 3.0 achieves its high transfer rates by using four additional wires in the data cable for a total of six wires. It supports full-duplex communication, or the ability to send and receive data simultaneously, and is power efficient. Most importantly it is backwards compatible with USB 2.0 devices. However, to achieve 3.0 speeds, a 3.0-compatible device and cable must be used.

USB has become an extremely popular interface, with a reported one billion USB products sold yearly worldwide. If the next generation USB is any indication, it will only become more useful over the next several years. Watch for USB 3.0 products at your local electronics store and satiate your need for speed.