Intel forum debuts to include USB 3.0 gear
As the next generation of Universal Serial Bus technology nears commercial reality, next week's Intel Developer Forum will play host to more USB 3.0-capable devices.
Point Grey Research will show a high-end video camera streaming video to a laptop with USB 3.0 technology
(Credit: Point Grey Research)A Fujitsu laptop, a high-end video camera, and a solid-state drive using USB 3.0 technology, among other hardware, will be demonstrated at IDF, according an announcement from the USB Implementers Forum on Thursday.
USB technology is now used on virtually all computing devices globally as well as the lion's share of consumer electronics products. Also referred to as "SuperSpeed USB," next-generation USB 3.0 boosts the data transfer rate 10 times over current technology, while also improving power efficiency.
Consumer electronics devices enabled with USB 3.0 are expected in the market late this year or early next. The specification was developed by Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, NEC, ST-Ericsson, and Texas Instruments.
On display at IDF, among other things, will be a Fujitsu laptop, the first to use built-in USB 3.0. Inside the Fujitsu laptop will be an NEC Electronics "host controller" chip that will exchange data with an external SuperSpeed USB drive from Buffalo Technology.
And USB 3.0 will be a godsend to video cameras--which often need to transfer gigabytes of video data. A prototype high-performance digital video camera from Point Grey Research will be rolled out that integrates a 3-megapixel Sony "IMX036" CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) image sensor to output 1080p high-definition images at 60 frames per second. This camera will stream uncompressed HD video to a laptop PC through a SuperSpeed USB ExpressCard from Fresco Logic.
Asus will also be present to show off its PC motherboard with SuperSpeed USB. The Asus X58 motherboard uses the same NEC chip and will exchange data with a LucidPort SuperSpeed USB mass storage device running the new USB Attached SCSI Protocol (UASP), which delivers improved performance and reduced latency.
The demonstrations will take place during two USB 3.0 technical sessions at IDF at the Moscone Center, San Francisco, starting on Tuesday.
Brooke Crothers has served as an editor at large at CNET News, an editor at Dow Jones' Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly, and a senior editor at InfoWorld. His CNET blog covers chip technology and computer systems, and how they define the computing experience. He also contributes to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. Follow Brooke on Twitter @mbrookec. 
Speed is nice, but power needs to be looked at.
That is the biggest factor why I prefer Firewire currently - of all the advantages it has over USB it the power feature thats the 'Killer App'.
It would be cool to be able to cut down on the power supplies laying around out here... when every peripheral needs its own power source, form factor and space become major issues. On the other hand, it's a different connection type and there are very few companies out there that do provide that type of connect. Maybe one day the POS sector will catch up to the rest of the world in technology.
- by Mr. Dee September 17, 2009 5:34 PM PDT
- I guess support for Windows 7 won't be coming until SP1.
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