A number of people in the industry agree that the first models of USB 3.0 personal computers (PC) will probably ship from Taiwanese PC manufacturers before the end of 2009.
SuperSpeed Universal Serial Bus (USB), better known as USB 3.0, is about ready for commercial rollout as the next-generation USB interface. At the SuperSpeed USB Developers Conference held in Tokyo May 20-21, 2009, it became clear that industry is pushing ahead fast with the development of compliant integrated circuits (IC), instruments for equipment developers, and more.
The adjoining
exhibition was packed with the latest prototypes, such as systems
pumping data between a PC host and external solid-state drives (SSD
device) via USB 3.0. The technology has matured considerably since
earlier showings, including mutual interoperability between systems
with ICs from different vendors.
The development competition between companies manufacturing components, equipment and more is heating up rapidly.
The Platform Interoperability Lab (PIL) handling interoperability verification of developed products, according to USB-IF chair Jeff Ravencraft, is "...fully booked through the end of June 2009."
One development that seems likely to accelerate USB 3.0 commercialization is NEC Electronics Corp of Japan's shipment of a host controller - the world's first, according to the company. Samples shipped in early June 2009, and volume production at about a million units a month is expected to start in Sept this year.
The host controller IC, mounted in the PC or other equipment, is essential for USB 3.0 utilization. The fact that NEC Electronics is launching volume production suggests that the first PCs mounting the chips will ship before the end of the year. Industry observers predict the move will provide major impetus for the development of device controllers for peripherals such as external hard disk drives (HDD).
NEC Electronics itself predicts that shipments of USB 3.0 PCs will reach about 140 million units in 2011, and about 340 million in 2012 (see Fig). Of these, says the firm with confidence, "We will probably hold almost 100% of the market for standalone host controller ICs."
As USB 3.0-compliant equipment approaches, industry is also searching for ways to expand the range of application. One promising candidate is high-definition (HD) video streaming.
USB 3.0 supports isochronous transfer, as did the prior USB specification. And if video can be transferred isochronously, says one measurement equipment engineer, "It will be able to handle 1080i HD video streams for sure, maybe more." The current USB 2.0 implementation is already in use as video terminals connecting netbooks to external monitors. The faster USB 3.0 seems likely to achieve even more widespread application in this field.
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