USB 3.0 and WiDi Make Waves at IDF

The Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco this year was a wild success. The three-day conference combined the brightest minds from companies across the globe, showcasing the latest trends and technologies in the field. Here are a few of the highlights from this year’s conference:

• Growth of Smart-Device Market: Intel CEO Paul Otellini focused his keynote presentation on the growing smart device market. He also highlighted Intel’s upcoming Sandy Bridge processors, Intel’s first mainstream chip integrating graphics function and main processor on the same piece of silicon.
• Wireless Displays (WiDi): Continuing the trend of consumer product interoperability, wireless display technology allows users to mirror their PC’s display to an HDTV, no wires required. Intel Atom processors will soon feature integrated WiDi technologies for netbooks and tablets.
• WeTab: The WeTab, developed by Neofonie and 4tiitoo, is the first tablet running the MeeGo operating system. The tablet offers a flexible user interface and Intel’s high-powered Atom processor. No global release date has been announced.
• SuperSpeed USB Momentum: The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) announced that almost 120 products have passedSuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) certification testing, demonstrating strong industry momentum since the first SuperSpeed USB-certified device was announced at IDF 2009.
• Context-Aware Devices: Justin Rattner, Intel’s chief technology officer and director of Intel Labs, presented a keynote on Wednesday on how personal technology will transform the way consumers interact with technology. Whether it’s cameras detecting movement or analyzing inputted data, such as calendar information, this next wave of devices will anticipate users’ wants and needs.

Falling Prices, Growing Demand for SuperSpeed USB

With all the benefits of SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) – including faster speeds, bidirectional data interface and lower power consumption – consumers are eager to adopt this cutting-edge technology. Until this point, one of the main hurdles slowing widespread adoption has been the price of chips. However, NEC, the first company to ship a SuperSpeed USB host controller, is looking to change that. The company reportedly plans to significantly reduce prices for its first- and second-generation USB 3.0 chips later this year.

NEC’s third-generation USB chip models are scheduled to start shipping in Q1 2010, priced at less than $2. Other companies, including ASMedia (an Asus subsidiary), Etron, VIA and Fresco Logic, have all introduced price cuts for SuperSpeed USB products as well, with ASMedia dipping as low as $1.70 per chip for bulk orders.

Market watchers are predicting that 20 million SuperSpeed USB chips will ship by the end of the year, followed by 40 million shipments in 2011. With these dramatic price drops and a growing number of USB 3.0 certified devices, it’s likely that consumers won’t have to wait much longer for widespread adoption.

Lower prices and an increasing number of shipments mean manufacturers have the tools they need to take advantage of the demand for lower-cost SuperSpeed USB products. But despite the falling price of chips, developers still need to be aware of the costs associated with test development and product design validation. By pairing with a certified product development and testing company such as Allion, offering end-to-end validation solutions, developers can improve time-to-market and reduce overall costs, a savings which can then be passed on to consumers eagerly awaiting new SuperSpeed USB devices.

TRENDnet Offers New USB 3.0 Upgrade for PCs and Laptops

Unless you purchased a computer within the last few months, chances are you do not yet have SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) ports on your computer. For those who want to take advantage of the new technology but are not yet willing to invest in a new PC, TRENDnet is offering a cost-effective alternative: SuperSpeed USB upgrade solutions for both desktop PCs and laptops.

TRENDnet has released two user-friendly adapters that allow consumers to take advantage of the latest USB technology. For laptop users, TRENDnet has developed the 2-port USB 3.0 ExpressCard Adapter model TU3-H2EC. Desktop users can take advantage of the 2-Port USB 3.0 PCI Express Adapter model TU3-H2PIE. Both models are fully compatible with Windows-based machines. The adaptors will soon be available for $59 and $49, respectively.

SuperSpeed USB offers a number of compelling enhancements over its predecessor, USB 2.0. Among the most notable is the speed: SuperSpeed USB delivers data transfer rates up to 5 Gbps, 10x faster than USB 2.0. The standard contains nine bi-directional wires, compared to the four unidirectional wires in USB 2.0, improving data transfer compatibilities. SuperSpeed USB also improves power efficiency, allowing for extended battery life for portable devices. SuperSpeed USB is backward compatible with the billions of USB devices currently on the market.

An authorized USB-IF Compliance Program testing lab, Allion has years of experience working with product developers. Our labs offer comprehensive development, validation and support services for hardware vendors looking to design products based on the USB specification. Allion has the USB service capabilities and expertise to help manufacturers develop the highest quality products so that consumers can advantage of SuperSpeed USB capabilities.

SuperSpeed USB Adoption Poised to Take Off

For consumers looking for the latest technology, SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) offers an exciting combination of speed and performance – up to 10x faster than Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0), optimized power efficiency and increased power delivery – and there have been a growing number of SuperSpeed USB products entering the market. According to a series of new market analyses from In-Stat, consumers won’t have much longer to wait for widespread SuperSpeed USB adoption.

In-Stat projected that the PC market will completely transition from Hi-Speed USB to SuperSpeed USB by 2014. While desktops have historically been the first to adopt new interface technologies, SuperSpeed USB adoption is expected to be driven by mobile PCs, reflecting the need for faster interfaces for external storage solutions. SuperSpeed USB is projected to take off in 2011, sweeping through the USB-enabled hard drive market by 2013. SuperSpeed USB devices will also become more affordable as shipments increase: From 2009 to 2014, prices for USB-enabled devices are projected to decrease by more than 20 percent each year.

For manufacturers, SuperSpeed USB presents a growing market with huge potential for development. Allion Test Labs has been an accredited USB-IF Independent Test Lab (ITL) since 1999, offering complete engineering, validation and compliance testing for every stage of the product design and development process. With Allion’s expertise and USB test service capabilities, manufacturers are offered a one-stop shop for product development that allows them to get quality products to market faster and take advantage of SuperSpeed USB’s growing market.

OCZ’s Enyo Portable SSDs Deliver Top Speeds

This week, OCZ Technology unveiled an exciting new line of Enyo Portable solid-state drives (SSDs) featuring SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) technology. The SSDs incorporate all the advantages of an internal SSD – better speed, performance and durability with lower power consumption – into a portable external storage device. This allows consumers to transfer data between multiple computers using one of the fastest backup drives to date.

The Enyo series enables impressive read and write speeds that are sure to please even the most demanding consumers. With up to 260MB/s read, 200MB/s write and 150MB/s sustained write capabilities, the Enyo SSD can copy a 6GB DVD in 20 seconds and a 25GB Blu-ray in 70 seconds. These speeds allow the SSDs to take full advantage of the 5Gbps speeds offered by SuperSpeed USB, a significant speed boost over traditional rotating media. “Background garbage collection” helps maintain optimized performance throughout the product’s lifespan by addressing the fragmentation caused by combined writes while the system idles. The Enyo SSDs are ultra-portable, weighing just 87.7g, are fully backwards-compatible with legacy ports and do not require external power supplies. The SSD line is based on multi-level cell (ML) NAND flash memory and is available in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB varieties for $229.99, $409.99 and $819.99, respectively.

SSDs and SuperSpeed USB are continuing to broaden their market reach as products push technological boundaries. As more manufacturers adopt SuperSpeed USB and as SSDs continue to gain traction, manufacturers are capable of delivering the highest level of quality and functionality to their customers. With customers demanding greater speed and performance, we can expect more SSDs and SuperSpeed USB certified devices on the market in the near future.

Allion Japan Implementing Tektronix Solution for HDMI 1.4a and USB 3.0

This week, Allion Japan announced with Tektronix, Inc. that they will implement Tektronix test and measurement solutions supporting HDMI 1.4a and SuperSpeed USB in their certification test services. As one of the first compliance test labs to conduct certification testing for HDMI 1.4a and USB 3.0 in one facility, this is an exciting development for Allion.

Read the complete announcement.