It’s not only USB 3.0 that has reached a milestone today; ExpressCard too has notched up another specification, taking it to 2.0. Based on PCI Express 2.0 and USB 3.0 specifications, ExpressCard 2.0 will support data transfers from between two and ten times faster than the current version. That can be used in anything from SATA 2 drive attachment, to ExpressCard flash-memory expansion.
The specifications for USB 3.0 have been released [pdf link], at the first SuperSpeed USB Developer Conference held today. Now at the 1.0 level, the release will mean that OEMs and other developers can begin creating products using the high-speed replacement to USB 2.0; USB 3.0 offers up to ten times the bandwidth of the last-gen version.
The final protocol specification for the new USB 3.0 standard is set to be announced [pdf link] at the first SuperSpeed USB Developer Conference held next Monday. That will then pave the way for companies to begin designing and producing devices that use the high-speed connection, ten times faster than existing USB 2.0 technology and capable of transferring up to 27GB of data in a little over a minute. However Microsoft’s upcoming OS, Windows 7, will not ship with native USB 3.0 support.
SlashGear Japan
