USB 3.0 to arrive at superspeed in 2008

Patrick Gelsinger announced the formation of the USB 3.0 promoters’ group during his keynote this afternoon.

The group, which consists of HP, Intel, Microsoft, NEC, NXP and Texas Instruments aims to deliver a final specification for the third generation of USB in the first half of 2008.

Intel said that USB 3.0 will be backwards compatible with current devices and will deliver more than 10 times the bandwidth of USB 2.0. Additionally, the new specification will enable better power efficiency and is expected to support both copper and optical interconnects.

Initial USB 3.0 devices and implementations are expected to be in the form of discrete silicon.

In order to explain the importance of the USB interconnect and how it has transformed the way we use our PCs, Gelsinger said that over 6.2 billion USB devices had shipped since 2001, with 2.1 billion of those shipping during 2006.

He pointed out the usual list of USB-enabled devices that most computers use: keyboards, mice, digital cameras, printers (and so on), and then revealed the USB cool wall, which featured record players, mini-fridges and mittens, all of which were USB-powered.

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