The present USB 2.0 that we use has a top data-transfer rate of 480 megabits per second. But that will soon change with the advent of USB 3.0 version. The new upgrade will boast of a tenfold increase i.e. 4.8 gigabits per second. Intel and others plan to release a new version in the first half of 2008. Though many devices don’t need that much capacity, however some can use more, like hard drives, flash card readers and optical drives such as DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD. The new Universal Serial Bus will manage high speeds thanks to fiber-optic links alongside the traditional copper wires. Apparently Intel is prompting fellow USB 3.0 Promoters Group members Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Texas Instruments, NEC and NXP Semiconductors to release the USB 3.0 specification in the first half of 2008. Intel’s Pat Gelsinger says “there’s typically a one- to two-year lag between the release of the specification and the availability of the technology, so USB 3.0 products should likely arrive in 2009 or 2010.

The fastest flash card readers today use IEEE 1394 “FireWire” connections run at 800 megabits per second. USB 3.0 will offer greater energy efficiency, Gelsinger said. The good thing is that USB 3.0 will be backward compatible, hence existing USB 2.0 devices will be able to plug into USB 3.0 ports.
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