USB 3.0 connectors on display

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James Bannan21 January 2008, 12:21 AM

USB 3.0 connectors made their into in the public light at CES. What will the new world of USB 3.0 look like? Remarkably similar to the old one, it seems.


At the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Los Angeles, the new-look USB 3.0 connectors and sockets got a public airing.

First announced and demonstrated by Pat Gelsinger (Intel’s Senior Vice-President and General Manager of the Digital Enterprise Group) at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in September 2007, “SuperSpeed USB” utilises a parallel optical cable to deliver bandwidth at approximately 4.8 Gbit/sec which is around 10 times the speed of the current USB 2.0 standard.

Pat GelsingerPat Gelsinger


Unfortunately the optical connectors weren’t on display at CES, just the electrical ones.

USB 3.0 optical connectorUSB 3.0 optical connector


As USB 3.0 is designed to be backwards-compatible with both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0, the pin design is almost identical with existing USB plugs and receptacles. The five USB 3.0 contacts have been positioned behind the existing four USB 1.1/2.0 contacts, and the receptacle is deeper as a result of this – USB 3.0 plugs will be longer than existing USB plugs to reach the rear contacts.

USB 3.0 electrical plugUSB 3.0 electrical plug

USB 3.0 connector diagramUSB 3.0 connector diagram


The USB 3.0 specification is expected to be released in the first half of 2008, with peripherals hitting the market in 2009 or 2010.


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AnonymousAnon:

I wished they redesigned the plug so it could be inserted either way up!

29 February 2008, 8:33 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Shawn:

it is a good idea but this would make the connector unnecessarily large.

29 February 2008, 8:49 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Michael Kean:

Hmm, these are going to be a bit of a nightmare on USB memory sticks, because once you lose the cap, the plugs collect lint and you have to pluck them clean with paperclips, etc every now and then.

29 February 2008, 8:33 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Adam:

I didn't like USB1 and USB2.

The communications protocol that ran over the bus was tied to the physical layer, and broke the OSI model.

This made doing simple things like optical isolation much more complex to implement than was necessary.

Using pull up resistors on the D lines to determine the Baud rate that the communications ran at was ridiculous design decision.



29 February 2008, 8:33 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

CNC:

^ someones a showoff...

29 February 2008, 8:50 PM (2 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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