Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Has Strong Presence At Intel Developer Forum

INTEL DEVELOPER FORUM, SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27, 2002 - First-time demonstrations, announcements, certified packaging and other displays of broad industry support of Universal Serial Bus 2.0 -- Hi-Speed USB 2.0 - are highlighted this week at Intel Developer Forum, Spring 2002, in San Francisco.

"Not even two full months into what the USB Implementers Forum is dubbing 'The Year of USB 2.0,' the technology has already seen its share of major milestones in 2002," said Jason Ziller, chairman of the USB-IF and Intel technology initiatives manager.

Milestones include the launch of initial PCs and laptops with USB 2.0 as a baseline feature, availability of USB 2.0 drivers for Microsoft Windows XP* and Intel's debut of two USB 2.0-supporting desktop boards with the company's first USB 2.0-integrated chipsets on the horizon. In all, more than 100 Hi-Speed USB 2.0 products have been launched in the past year.

USB 2.0 - dubbed "Hi-Speed USB 2.0" in the marketplace by the USB-IF - increases the speed of the peripheral to PC connection from 12 Mbps on USB 1.1 to up to 480 Mbps on USB 2.0, or 40 times faster. The higher bandwidth is a major boost for such external peripherals as CD/DVD burners, scanners, cameras and hard drives. It also supports demanding PC user applications where multiple high-speed devices run simultaneously, including digital image creation and Web publishing.

Microsoft Corp. has made USB 2.0 support available to OEMs and system builders, allowing PC manufacturers to ship Windows XP*-based systems with the drivers loaded going out the door. In addition, USB 2.0 support to Windows XP* users is now available via Windows Update, enabling higher-speed and simple connectivity to a wide range of peripheral devices from cameras to music devices to storage devices and more.

"Microsoft is fully committed to supporting the latest technologies and services on the Windows platform, and has worked to develop driver support for USB 2.0 since its inception," said Stacey M. Breyfogle, Microsoft group program manager for Windows Hardware Platform Strategy. "Our recent release of USB 2.0 drivers for Windows XP* to our OEM partners and on Windows Update is a huge step forward in enabling our customers to easily connect high-speed USB devices to their PCs for exciting new functionality and usages."

Intel will introduce a USB 2.0-integrated chipset that is scheduled to be in PCs on the market in the first half 2002. The company last month launched two desktop boards that support up to five USB 2.0 ports. The higher bandwidth connections available through Hi-Speed USB 2.0 capitalize on the faster processing power of the Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor.

PCs and laptops with USB 2.0 as a baseline feature have been launched this year by Gateway and NEC.

At IDF this week, the USB-IF and other show exhibitors are displaying and demonstrating HDDs, CD-RWs, DVDs, add-in cards, PC cards, scanners and other Hi-Speed USB 2.0 peripherals that have met USB-IF compliance, and, thus, are allowed to have packaging bear a red, white and blue "Certified USB" logo. Key demos at the USB-IF booth (#528) include the following:

• A Gateway 700XL with a Pentium® 4 processor with an Intel motherboard and NEC discrete host controller, and running Windows XP*. The demo features a flash card reader, external HDD and a CD-RW that are all Hi-Speed USB 2.0 based.
• An NEC "Lavie J" laptop using an NEC discrete host controller, running Windows XP*. The demo features a Crescentec Hi-Speed USB 2.0 camera and a USB 2.0 DVD player running.

Several exhibiting companies are making announcements this week at IDF Spring 2002. These include:

• Fujitsu Magneto Optical Removable Storage* products endorsing Hi-Speed USB 2.0, and announces plans for future USB 2.0 product compliance.
• Gain Technology entering analog IC market with Hi-Speed USB 2.0 products.
• NetChip Technology announcing availability of TurboCONNECT2.0*, a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 host-to-host network solution.
• IOGEAR making two announcements: Launch of its first Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Compact FlashCard* reader offering 100 times faster connection speeds than standard; and its latest 3.5-inch ION, a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 portable hard drive product.
• National Software Testing Labs announcing USB-IF certification of new independent USB 2.0 compliance testing that offers hardware developers an alternative to plugfests.
• SiS announcing integration of Hi-Speed USB 2.0 host controller in its SiS962 south bridge.
• Cypress delivering first-revenue shipments of Hi-Speed USB 2.0 controller to CATC.

About USB-IF
The non-profit USB Implementers Forum Inc. was formed to provide a support organization and forum for the advancement and adoption of USB technology. The USB-IF facilitates the development of high-quality, compatible USB devices, and promotes the benefits of USB and the quality of products that have passed compliance testing. Further information, including postings of the most recent product and technology announcements, is available by visiting the USB-IF Web site at www.usb.org.

* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.