USB 3.0 is (almost) here

Although the first prototypes were on display at CES in Las Vegas at the start of the year, the definitive specification for the new version of the standard was only announced yesterday.  Well, version 1.0 of it was ...

Fully backwards-compatible with earlier versions of the USB standard, these new connectors have a theoretical bandwidth of 4800 Gbit/s, or 600 MB/s, or one-and-a-half times faster than the forthcomng FireZire 3200 standard, itself four times faster than the currently leading FireXire 800 system.

Ironically, the two rival systms are hoping to create the jump in speeds by using the same technology, combining fiber optic cabling with traditional copper wires.

This upgrade to USB comes not before time, as the system fell slightly behind the high speeds promised by FireWire in 2001 and little has changed since then.

It even took years for USB to advance from version 1.1 to version 2.0.

And for those who might complain that parallel ports lasted for decades--well, that was all well and good back then.

But mobile phones with 8 GB memory cards, 120 GB MP3 players and 2 TB external hard drives were unthinkable just a generation ago, too.

Given the amount of products out there that support USB, the standard's third version is definitely welcome news, but it's not quite time to get the champagne on ice.

Although all the documention is there, it won't be until the until the second half of 2009 that we see the first chipsets, and the first peripherals won't arrive before 2010.