USB 3.0: What You Need To Know

news · December 30, 2009

*USB 3.0: What You Need To Know*

The Universal Serial Bus standard has come a long way since its introduction

in 1996. Backed by a consortium of companies led by Intel, Compaq and

Microsoft, it offered some unheard-of features for its time, including the

ability to connect peripherals without turning off the computer first and to

draw power without a separate AC connection. The standard became popular

with the arrival of version 1.1 in late 1998, allowing a maximum transfer

rate of 12Mb/s, and as we can witness nowadays just about any device comes

standard with 'Hi-Speed' USB 2.0 connectivity.

USB 3.0 is the next major revision of the ubiquitous interface. Dubbed

SuperSpeed USB, this new version promises a tenfold leap forward in transfer

speeds as well as improved capabilities, all while maintaining compatibility

with USB 2.0 devices. In the following few paragraphs we've rounded out all

the relevant information that you as a consumer should know about the

next-generation USB standard.

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