The reversible USB Type-C connector is turning heads at CES
The reversible USB Type-C connector is turning heads at
CES
The next-gen USB connector is slim, sturdy and will
deliver up to 100 watts of power
By James Niccolai
IDG News Service | Jan 6, 2015 5:10 PM PT
A cable connector is an odd thing to get excited about,
but when it's something as ubiquitous as USB you can perhaps forgive people for
getting a little worked up.
The new Type-C connector has been making some appearances
at the International CES this week, and it brings several improvements that are
worth paying attention to if you're a USB user, which most people will be for
some time yet, at least until everything goes wireless.
Having handled a Type-C connector here I can tell you
that it felt very sturdy, so despite being as slender as a Micro USB connector
it doesn't seem like we'll have a "bendgate" over USB Type-C.
One of the chief benefits is that the connector is
reversible, so you won't have to worry any more about plugging it in upside
down. Also, both ends of a Type-C cable can be identical, so there's no small
end for your phone and big end for your PC, as with Micro USB.
It's also faster. The Type-C connector works with the
latest USB 3.1 standard, which operates at up to 10Gbps. That's twice as fast
as the USB 3.0 standard supported by current USB connectors. (The letter refers
to the shape of the connector, while the USB version number denotes its speed
and other capabilities.)
A third benefit of Type-C is that it can deliver greater
amounts of power -- up to 100 watts. That means you should be able to charge
something as big as a laptop via a USB cable, as well as the phones and other
small devices you can charge today.
The USB Implementers Forum has been demonstrating the
technology this week at CES. On Monday evening it showed it transferring data
between two SSD drives and a computer at sustained speeds over 800 MBps.
Jeff Ravencraft, president and COO of the USB Implementers
Forum, pointed out to us that first-generation silicon being used and that
the SSD drives were at capacity. He's confident he'll soon get to throughput of
well over 1GBps.
He also noted that the cable itself is only one piece of
the puzzle. It will be up to device makers and PC makers to build support for
Type-C connectors and USB 3.1 into their products.
Taiwanese systems builder MSI is showing a gaming
motherboard at CES with USB 3.1 and a Type-C connector. And DisplayLink, which
makes docking stations, is demonstrating compatibility between Type-C and
standard Type-A connectors at its booth.
Nokia's N1 tablet is among the first products that have
been announced with a Type-C connector port. Nokia has said it will go on sale
in February in China and soon after in other countries.
Although the USB 3.1 spec was only recently finalized,
the Implementers Forum is already researching ways to increase its speed, which
will make it more competitive with the Thunderbolt technology developed by
Apple and Intel.
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