Large data transfer drive SuperSpeed USB adoption

Largely a result of quicker integration of the new standard into core logic chipsets, the switch to SuperSpeed USB is taking place faster than previously expected. However, low-/full-speed will remain the interface of choice in mice and keyboards while high-speed will still facilitate many PC peripheral and CE applications, according to a recent research by In-Stat. A 7.4 percent growth for USB is also seen through 2015 with SuperSpeed devices stimulating most of that growth with CAGR of 178 percent.

"Because the throughput of SuperSpeed USB—10 times that of high-speed USB—is not required in some devices, adoption will not initially be as broad as for full- and high-speed USB," said Brian O'Rourke, research director at In-Stat. "However, SuperSpeed USB will gain significant initial penetration in markets requiring transfers of increasingly larger pools of data. This process is underway in applications such as PCs, external hard disk drives and USB flash drives. It will happen over the next few years in applications such as digital still cameras, camcorders and portable media players."

The In-Stat research titled "USB 2011: SuperSpeed Comes to Market" stated that more than 3.5 billion USB devices were shipped in 2010, with high-speed USB comprising over three-quarters of shipment. Mobile phones are seen to be the main driver for USB and will play a role in the adoption of SuperSpeed USB. In addition, the price of SuperSpeed silicon will begin to approach the cost of high-speed USB, on both the host and device side, in the next two to three years.