USB stands for 'Universal Serial Bus', and '3.0' refers
to the latest release of this interface which also goes by the name of
'SuperSpeed USB'.
USB3.0 offers faster performance and improved
power efficiency over USB2.0 while maintaining backward compatibility with
USB2.0 interfaces. The USB3.0 interface will mainly benefit devices with
extreme bandwidth requirements, for example those streaming high
definition video.
What does the USB3.0 interface promise?
- USB3.0
has a 5 Gbps signalling rate offering 10x performance increase over
Hi-Speed USB (USB2.0).
- USB3.0
has a Sync-N-Go technology that minimizes user wait-time during Syncing
operations..
- USB3.0
will provide Optimized Power Efficiency. No device polling occurs and
lower active and idle power requirements are seen.
- USB3.0
is backwards compatible with USB 2.0. Devices interoperate with USB 2.0
platforms. Hosts support USB 2.0 legacy devices.
Could
USB Flash drives take advantage of USB3.0?
The Read/Write speeds of a USB flash drive predominately depends on the
components used inside the drive. The grade of NAND flash memory used, the
number of NAND flash chips and their configuration are of particular
importance.
Currently, only USB flash drives in the very
highest end of the price and performance spectrum would benefit from USB3.0.
The components of most flash drives prohibit them from exceeding the
capabilities of a USB2.0 interface.