The USB Promoter Group recently issued a press release that may just change the way we look at USB peripherals. The announcement was not that they were coming out with an even faster version of USB, as
USB 3.0 is more than fast enough for most applications. No, what the group announced was that they are seriously thinking about upgrading the maximum power from 4.5W 900mA to 100W 20A with a new specification called USB Power Delivery.
This is certainly one serious upgrade as it will make a whole swath of products be host deliverable and not need a power brick. This in turn should allow USB 3.0 products to be even more frugally priced as the AC/DC power converters are a good portion of their material costs. Even better than having lower prices is the idea that you would no longer need an extra set of cables for many products as the USB cable would be all that is needed. Also interesting is the fact that the USB Power Delivery is compatible with existing cables and connectors. This implies any proper USB host upgrade any computers should be able to drive any power hungry devices. The specs is targeted for industry review during Q4 this year, just in time for the
powerful USB 3.0 to pit against Thunderbolt.
Though to be honest, the one product we can't wait to see is a USB powered 27" monitor that not gets their own video signal over USB (ala. DisplayLink technology) but also their power. A ultra-thin notebook powered solely by a USB connection is also possible. After all, with 20 Amps to work with, it is no longer a question whether or not they can do this, but when they will do it. Interesting times indeed.
AREA Flush-fiting USB 3.0 ExpressCard Offers Two Ports of Goodness
By Ian Chiu on August 11th, 2011
