'SuperSpeed' USB 3.0 expected to be widespread by 2010

A much faster USB specification is finally about to be implemented, replacing the eight-year-old USB 2.0 standard for connecting printers, mobile phones, drives, and other consumer devices.

The USB 3.0 Promoters Group this week officially confirmed a new USB specification with a maximum speed touted as ten times higher than the currently implemented USB 2.0.

First released back in the year 2000, the USB 2.0 standard for connecting mobile phones, printers, external drives, and other devices provides a top bandwidth range of 480 Mbps.

The new USB 3.0, on the other hand, is billed as supporting speeds of up to 5.0 Gbps.

Version 1 of USB 3.0 -- which carries the commercial title "SuperSpeed USB" -- has now been submitted to the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the governing body of the USB.

"Today's consumers are using rich media and large digital files that [have] to be easily and quickly transferred from and to devices and vice versa. SuperSpeed USB meets the needs of everyone from the tech-savvy executive to the average home user," contended Jeff Ravencraft, president and chairman of USB-IF, in a statement.

The faster spec is expected to start showing up in controllers late next year and in consumer devices in 2010.