USB 2.0: The Superfast Interface

USB (Universal serial bus) 2.0, the next-generation USB interface technology,
gained wide acceptance in the last one year with most manufacturers offering
products with support for this high-speed interface. The gaining popularity of
USB 2.0 was for obvious reasons.

It is 40 times faster than its predecessor USB 1.1. And that’s not it. USB
2.0 even offers backward compatibility with USB 1.1. This enabled customers to
continue using their older UBS-supported devices doing away with the need to
upgrade.

MARKET IMPECT Future PCs and peripherals are expected to be USB 2.0 compatible Backward compatibility with USB 1.0/1.1 will make it widely acceptable Faster data transfer rates will result in USB 2.0 becoming default standard

MAKING ITS PRESENCE FELT

USB 2.0 enables up to 127 devices to be connected to a single computer by
adding hubs. From simple input devices like keyboards, mice and joysticks, to
peripherals like printers, scanners, storage devices, modems, and video
conferencing cameras, were seen to sport the USB 2.0 interface as a regular
standard.

During the year, this technology became a well-accepted standard, a good
credit for which goes to the efforts of the Promoter Group comprising Microsoft,
HP, Compaq, Intel, NEC and Philips. According to technology analysts, USB 2.0
will become the standard for future peripherals. However, it will not replace
original USB technology in all products.

EDGE OVER PREDECESSOR

USB 1.0/1.1, USB 2.0’s predecessors, support data transfer of up to 1.5
Mbps for low-speed devices and up to 12 Mbps for full-speed devices. However,
USB 2.0 supports up to 480 Mbps for high-speed devices.

Which means, data transfer between the computer and peripherals is 40 times
faster than the original USB. To understand it simply, it would take 1.1 minutes
to transfer a 100 MB file with USB 1.1 devices in a sustained, optimal
condition, while in USB 2.0 it would take only 1.6 seconds to transfer the same
file.

USB 2.0 inherits the similar plug-n-play specifications of its predecessor,
enabling users to easily connect peripherals and use immediately without
configuring the hardware. It also provides hot-swapping capability.

In may 2002, Intel released the first family of chipsets which integrated
Hi-Speed USB 2.0 in the I/O Controller Hub. These were the Intel 845E, 845G and
845GL chipsets. This was another reason for the inevitable acceptance of this
standard in India. In fact, all the new PC sold with Intel 845E/G/GL chipsets
are USB-ready.

Currently, the following USB 2.0-supported products are available in the
market: Adapters, cables, PCMCIA cardbus, CDRW, PCI card, FireWire card,
motherboard, scanner, webcams, flash readers, external hard disk drive, HD
enclosures, hubs, switches, and digital video cameras.