infoTECH Feature

March 04, 2011

USB-IF Certifies a New Wave of SuperSpeed USB Consumer Products

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has announced that 200 products have passed SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) certification testing. The latest certified devices include the first certified SuperSpeed USB  flash drive from Imation and also the first certified SuperSpeed USB media player, the O!Play HD2 from ASUS.

Market watcher IDC believes that adoption of SuperSpeed USB will accelerate in the second half of 2012, and that approximately 80 percent of mobile PCs will ship with SuperSpeed USB in 2013, with roughly equal penetration in commercial and consumer mobile PCs.

These new products signals the vitality of SuperSpeed USB and expands the list of certified products to include—motherboards, notebooks, external storage devices, flash drives, media players, PCI (News - Alert) Express and ExpressCard add-in cards, storage controllers, hard disk drives and device-enabling silicon.

In a released statement, Jeff Ravencraft, president & COO of USB-IF said, “The industry ramp of SuperSpeed USB products achieving certification has been phenomenal. We have seen the number of certified products quadruple since CeBIT (News - Alert) 2010, and the certification workshops and labs continue to fill up with products from around the globe. This is a testament to the consumer and manufacturer enthusiasm behind the technology.”

Similarly, commented Shane Rau, IDC's (News - Alert) research director of computing semiconductors, "The combined benefits of data transfer rate up to 10x faster than Hi-Speed USB, low power consumption, and ease of use are helping drive SuperSpeed USB adoption by an increasing number and variety of devices."

Meanwhile, USB-IF has also launched SuperSpeed USB cable and connector certification program. According to USB-IF, the SuperSpeed USB cable and connector certification program is designed for testing cables and connectors—for compliance to the specification to achieve certification. Companies whose certified cables and connectors have achieved certification may license the rights to use the SuperSpeed USB logo; in conjunction with providing the USB-IF with a signed logo license agreement.

Three independent test labs, including Contech Research, Inc., ETC and NTS (News - Alert) have been authorized to test SuperSpeed USB cables and connectors.


Ashok Bindra is a veteran writer and editor with more than 25 years of editorial experience covering RF/wireless technologies, semiconductors and power electronics. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Jamie Epstein
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