USB 3.0: Bye-bye power cords?

Consumers can soon bid goodbye to power cords for electronic devices using USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed), a tech site reported Tuesday (Manila time).

 

A report on TechHive.com said the USB 3.0 specification allows not just faster data transfer but also greater power transfer, from 10 to 100 watts.

 

“This is going to change the way computers, peripheral devices, and even HDTVs will not only consume but deliver power. You can have an HDTV with a USB hub built into it where not only can you exchange data and audio/video, but you can charge all your devices from it,” said Jeff Ravencraft, president of the USB Implementers Forum.

 

USB-IF is a nonprofit organization founded by the USB specification's developers such as Intel, Microsoft, and Hewlett-Packard.

 

With the increase in power, TechHive said computer monitors, laptops, and even high-definition TVs "could be powered through the use of a single USB hub, which would also allow for a bi-directional data flow."

 

Also, it said the Thunderbolt interconnect standard will soon be upgraded from 10Gbps to 20Gbps, even as the USB SuperSpeed specification will double from 5Gbps to 10Gpbs.

 

Available by 2014

 

The new USB SuperSpeed 10Gbps specification is scheduled to be completed in July.

 

“I think we’ll see products in the market by the Christmas season in 2014. The companies have to build silicon - device, host, bridge and hub silicon,” Ravencraft said.

 

Superspeed demo

 

In the Intel Developer’s Forum in 2012, the USB-IF demonstrated a USB SuperSpeed hub powering a Lenovo notebook sending audio/video to two other displays, all while being charged from the cable.

 

Ravencraft noted the built-in hub means no more need for separate power bricks for each device.

 

A demo of USB power deliver at the recent Intel Developer’s Forum showed the display connected with a single USB cable.

 

Data and power was supplied from the Lenovo PC to the display.

 

Standardizing micro-USB

 

Ravencraft also said that with the European Union now requiring mobile phone vendors to use micro USB for charging, a similar consumer-backed movement could force vendors to accept a standardized power and data interface based on USB 3.

 

SuperSpeed USB is optimized for power efficiency, using only 1.5 amps of power for charging devices, or about one-third of the power of Hi-Speed USB (2.0).

 

Speed increase

 

Meanwhile, Gregg Potter, an analyst with Multimedia Research Group, said a speed increase for peripheral connections like Thunderbolt and USB may be needed soon, when enterprise-class solid-state drives that have high read-write speeds of up to 6.5 GB/second become widespread for consumer use.

 

“As manufacturers begin to look at 4K video for laptops and desktop computers, a USB DisplayLink or Thunderbolt port becomes an option,” Potter added. — TJD, GMA News