Archive for the 'Tablets' Category

I’m constantly asked: "Will Thunderbolt replace USB 3.0?"

Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 will co-exist & live long, fruitful lives

As reported previously, Apple filed and recieved a patent for a new iPhone or iPad connector which looks  like a Thunderbolt connection. You can see in the picture that it includes connections for USB 3.0 and dual port Displayport.

Apple received the patent in April 2011.  Since it takes at least 3 years to get a patent, we can guess that Apple has known since at least 2008 (probably 2007), it would support USB 3.0.

Apple may or may not have had knowledge of Thunderbolt in 2007.  I can see a world (in 2007) where Apple knew it would want it’s iPad tablet to drive a bigger monitor through DisplayPort.  That could be the original reason for dual DisplayPort and not Thunderbolt.  I can only guess.

Where am I going with this?

1. Apple uses the PCs chips found in most PCs
2. Most PCs will move to Ivy Bridge
3. Ivy Bridge will be found in most PCs
4. Future Apple PCs will likely use Ivy Bridge
5. Ivy Bridge has USB 3.0
6. It’s highly likely Apple will support USB 3.0
7. Apple patents indicate they’ve planned all along to support USB 3.0

So if you are still with me, Apple will definitely support USB 3.0

Back to the question

Will Thunderbolt overtake USB 3.0?

Pros:

1. Faster than USB 3.0 today
2. Proven
3. On every Apple mobile PC

Cons:

1. Closed Standard restricts the ability to integrate.
2. Only one company provides discrete chips

The one way Thunderbolt could overtake USB 3.0 is if Thunderbolt opens up as a standard.

USB 3.0 will have more than 100 design starts for SoC integration

The USB-IF has something like 4000 members. By the end of this year, there will be about 200 different USB 3.0 Design starts.  Thats lots of people innovating products around USB.

Thunderbolt is closed.  It will stay closed.  This video explains why:

So the Innovator that designed Thunderbolt makes money from customers like Apple, Acer, and Lenovo that ship Thunderbolt.  Big piles of money.  People that need/want Thunderbolt pay for Thunderbolt.

The innovator promotes USB 3.0 for mainstream ease of use.  Consumers are happy.

Thunderbolt closed.  USB open.

Everyone is happy.

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I dare you.

Apparently we’ve sold a bunch of DDR.

There was cake.

I ate 2 pieces.

Fujitsu and Lenovo announced USB 3.0 Docking Stations both using the DisplayLink USB 3.0 to HDMI chip.

Fujitsu USB 3.0 Docking Station

The ThinkPad Lenovo USB 3.0 Docking Station also has the DisplayLink chip in it. It’s a pretty sleek design.

To celebrate the availability of these two terrific USB 3.0 products, I’m posting a demo showing exactly what a docking station like this can do.

USB 3.0 Docking Station–A real product bought off Amazon

The most important part about demonstrating the USB 3.0 Gold Tree with USB 2.0 peripherals, is that you can plug them all in and they “just work”  So your existing web cam, keyboards, mice, speakers, headphones, printers should all work just like we tested here.

We loaded the driver, and changed nothing in our setup and the USB 3.0 docking station worked.

My point: If you buy a USB 3.0 Docking Station it will work with your USB 2.0 stuff AND it might be the last one you buy for 10 years.

Think about buying a Fujitsu USB 3.0 Port Replicator, ThinkPad USB 3.0 Docking Station, or Targus USB 3.0 Docking Station.

As I read these articles, I realized that my lousy PCIexpress based docking station causes a Blue Screen of Death about 1 in 10 times I re-dock. So I’m going to steal a Targus USB 3.0 Docking station from the lab and replace the one on my desk.  I’m actually excited about this.

Here’s the original demo of the Targus docking station from DisplayLink recorded last year.

I described this docking station to my Dad, and he wants one.

I think my Dad doesn’t read my blog, and therefore doesn’t deserve a cool USB 3.0 Docking Station.

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Last week I wrote

“Remember Mother’s Day is May 12th in the U.S. Celebrate and send your mother a link to this blog.”

Today, Vijay (I guy I don’t talk to) walked by my office and said to me

“I sent it (your blog) to my wife’s mom”

without saying anything else before or after.

I have to wonder Vijay likes or dislike’s his wife’s mom.

Vijay’s name has been changed to protect the innocent.

I’m not sure who is innocent however.

I came across this Samsung tablet & smartphone chip with USB 3.0.  You can clearly see it has USB 3.0 as part of the design.

Even more fun, a Samsung says that this will go into a Samsung Galaxy 3 smart phone.  This means phones and tablets.

This makes the Samsung chip the 3rd tablet or smart phone chip that will definitely have USB 3.0.

TI OMAP is the first for tablets, and clearly goes into phones also.

The Ivy Bridge chip for PCs should go into tablets, but doesn’t appear to be made for phones.

And the Samsung Exynos 5 chip which looks like a tablet and phone chip.

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Realizations

I had lunch with my Mom and Dad Sunday. 

I told them about a video I planning to record.

The videos will be recorded by our most excellent marketing team of Darcy Hickey-Pierce and Hannah Watanabe of Conversation Central. (As usual do not click on that link stay here because you may not come back).

Back to the Video: My Mom and Dad both gave advice on how to put the proper market messaging in my video.

At this point, I realized, my Mom has never read my blog or watched my videos.

Which means I’m the only one who reads it.

Great.

Just Great.

Remember Mother’s Day is May 12th in the U.S. 

Celebrate and send your mother a link to this blog.

http://blogs.synopsys.com/tousbornottousb/

Maybe your Mom will read this blog.

My Mom does not.

PC Chipsets with integrated USB 3.0 (from the Innovator/inventor of USB) started shipping at the beginning of April for reviews.

Here’s a table from Anandtech clearly showing there will be 4 USB 3.0 ports!

They’ve added 4 USB 3.0 ports and to the existing 14 USB 2.0 ports.

If you look at your laptop or desktop, you won’t see that many USB 2.0 ports on the outside because some are used internally.  They connect to a 3G modem or a card reader or ExpressCard slot.

ASUS, HP, Samsung, Toshiba, and others have already announced they will have laptops based on the Ivy Bridge chipset, just Google Ivy Bridge PC and you’ll get all the models

It turns out that AMD has been shipping a motherboard also.

I found this article comparing the performance of the Ivy Bridge and AMD integrated chipsets against NEC, VIA, and ASMedia USB 3.0 Host controllers at http://techreport.com/discussions.x/22775.

Here’s part of the Graphs from that Report.

  From http://techreport.com/discussions.x/22775

As expected, the Ivy Bridge Chipset performs faster, it’s the Blue bar.

I’m going to make you go to the actual article at techreport.com to see what the other chips and integrated chips sets are on the graph because I think the website deserve the hits.

Integrated is Faster

Ivy Bridge is faster because it’s fully integrated:

The stand alone chips used in the NEC, VIA, and ASMedia Hosts can NOT achieve faster speeds because they are limited by their PCIe Gen 1 x1 connection to the motherboard.   PCIe Gen 1 x1 can only go up to 2.5 Gbps, and it’s less in a system where many PCIe peripherals are using the PCIe bus.  Ivy Bridge shouldn’t suffer from this because it is fully integrated into Ivy Bridge and probably has at least a PCIe Gen 1 x2, x4, or even x16 to make sure there is plenty of bandwidth to move the USB 3.0 data in and out of the system. 

For detail on factors that reduce or increase USB 3.0 performance read this blog entry.

I’m going to make you go to the actual article at techreport.com to see what the other chips and integrated chips sets are on the graph because I think the website deserve the hits.

Why the performance isn’t even faster (maybe)

Performance Note: the report does NOT tell us what kind of USB 3.0 Drive they used for testing. I can actually guess which Flash Drive they are using based on the max read speeds that I see, but that will be for a later blog entry.

I think the throughput is limited by the speed of the actual USB 3.0 Hard Drive or USB 3.0 Flash drive being used.

1. If it’s a USB 3.0 Hard Drive, it probably uses a bridge chip from USB 3.0 to a SATA 3 Gigabit/second (Gb/s). This means the maximum Read speed would be near 300 MegaBytes per second (MB/s) or about 3 Gb/s. 
2. If it’s a USB 3.0 Flash Drive, it’s speed will be limited by the quality of the Flash inside the drive.  The fastest flash speeds we’ve ever seen is about 300 Mb/s with a $600 SuperTalent flash drive that arranged 2 banks of flash in a RAID configuration.   At $600, this isn’t a really a consumer product.

   Basically, it was fast because it used the fastest Flash memory, lot of it (128GB), and arranged it in two pieces for simultaneous access to both pieces.  I don’t consider this to be a commercial product, and it didn’t sell that many because it cost more than a Hard Drive, but it gives us an idea of what performance is possible with Flash Memory.

USB 3.0 in Tablets

Apparently Ivy Bridge is also targeted at Tablet PCs with Win 8.   This makes Ivy Bridge the second chipset with integrated support along with TI’s OMAP 5 demonstrated at CES 2012 in January.

This confirms Rahman Ismail’s comments (USB-IF CTO) correctly stated USB 3.0 in tablets and smart phones will be appearing in 2012.

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Reader Mail

Thanks for reading this blog.

Comment below or send me an e-mail. Maybe if it’s insightful or insulting, I’ll post it here.  Either one works.

Reader Mail Below

> From: Name Withheld
> Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2012 5:35 PM
> To: Eric Huang

> Subject: Love your blooper on youtube!

> I just KNEW you were human!

My response:
> Was I a nematode before?

His Response:
> Correct

(Nematode = Worm)

Let me know if you know any spam bots.  I’ll send you his e-mail address…

Here’s the longer, more detailed version of our USB 3.0 SSIC demonstration.   It’s 7 minutes.  It’s going to be the best 7 minutes of your day.

SuperSpeed Interchip Proof of Concept–Long Version

If you want to watch the shorter version (or more of a description) go back to last week’s blog here for a written description of the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Interchip (SSIC) demo.

I meant to post it Thursday last week, but apparently I lied.

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Last week I wrote “…someone pointed out to me that no one is going to ever watch these videos twice.”

I received this comment in response, “Eric you are right, I’m never going to watch theses videos twice”

Thanks.

Thanks very, very much.

So the European Union has said, you must use USB as the charger for all cell phones in Europe going forward.  In fact, the EU estimates that there are over 1 Billion non-USB chargers sitting around Europe that are simply garbage.  By changing over to USB as the standard connector, this will eliminate the need to destroy or dispose billions of non-USB chargers.

It’s likely then you won’t get a charger in the box of your new mobile phone within the next 3 years.  Every phone maker will assume you have 3 in a drawer somewhere.

These (fun) videos from the EU explain why.  Who would have thought the EU could be so much fun?

Dinner Party and EU Common Phone Charger using USB Power

USB Dinner Party and EU Common Phone Charger using USB

USB Power for Phone

I’ll have a new blog on Thursday (or Friday) with referrals to 3 other blogs.  I expect that you will come back to my blog 2x for each click you give them.

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TI has now demonstrated the TI OMAP 5 chip which fully integrates USB 3.0,

It would have been even better for us SuperSpeed USB freaks if TI had actually demonstrated the USB 3.0 portion.

Instead, TI demonstrates stuff like 64fps 1080p video, highly responsive touchscreen scrolling, and points to all the interfaces.

Engadget’s exclusive pictures of the TI OMAP 5 Software Development show micro-B USB 3.0 connector there below the volume controller rocker switch.

Image Source: Engadget

Below the longer USB 3.0 micro-B connecter, you will see the mini HDMI connector called MHL which looks exactly like an old USB 2.0 mini-B connector because it is.  It was stolen by the HDMI group for use in portable designs.

(We didn’t want the mini-B anyways, when the USB-IF developed the micro-B that was clearly better so we are happy to have HDMI take old standards for their nefarious purposes)

As far as I know this the TI OMAP 5 Software Development Kit about first evidence of USB 3.0 in mobile phone, table, ultrabook design yet.

According to Anandtech

“The first devices based on OMAP 5 aren’t expected to ship until early 2013, with some aggressive customers potentially shipping at the very end of this year.” –Source: Anandtech

Well, I hope to see that out the OMAP 5 platform deploy with USB 3.0 in a real product in 2012. Which would back up with Ismail Rahman said about USB 3.0 appearing in mobile phones and tablets in 2012.  I warn you not to click on that last link to my blog entry.  Someone gave it one star.

You can read more at Engadget about the OMAP 5 demo at CES 2012 to read more, or you can watch the embedded video embedded below.  Engadget has an HD version of the same video at that link.

TI OMAP 5 Software Development Platform at CES 2012

A Faster USB 3.0 Flash Drive?

I received an e-mail saying my blog “Fastest USB 3.0 Flash Drive?…” might not be super-duper inaccurate.

I asked for samples for lab testing, I’m waiting for a response.   Next blog entry, I’ll write about this flash drive.  If you can find it, comment below.  (It’s already publically announced).  My thanks to the commenter for pointing this out.

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Rate this Blog Entry. 

Remember 5 stars is the best rating, 1 star is the worst. (So I’m sure the 1 star rating a few weeks ago was a misunderstanding)

Comment on the blog or e-mail me (you know who you are) on what you like or don’t like.

I get e-mails for most entries now so I appreciate those comments and input.  Thank you for reading.  If you get this far, e-mail me the word “donut” and I’ll buy you a donut next time I see you.

Happy New Year!

Yes, it’s still Happy.

My understanding: The world won’t end in 2012.

Which is great because according to the Ismail Rahman, CTO of the USB-IF says, that Mobile Phones and Tablets will support USB 3.0 in 2012 (PC World USB 3.0 in Smart Phones and Tablets article) 

Smartphones and tablets will also recharge faster through USB 3.0, as the power will flow faster than in USB 2.0, says Rahman

This is because a USB 3.0 Host port will provide up to 900mA of power for charging, which is more than the 500mA supplied by USB 2.0.  So he’s correct.

One thing PC World asks/says/challenges Ismail on:

But transferring data using the current USB 3.0 technology at such high data rates requires more power, which does not fit the profile of mobile devices.

Ismail responds:

“It’s not the failure of USB per se, it’s just that in tablets they are not looking to put the biggest, fastest things inside a tablet,” Ismail said.

He’s correct.  Another awesome response I might give is:

“Actually, USB 3.0 is more power efficient.  It transmits then shuts down.  USB 2.0 has a Host transmitting all the time with every device receiving signals all the time.

Also, at 10x the speed for only about 2x the power (in general) in means that a 10 minute transaction only 1 minute.  Then it turns off.  So it’s off for 9 minutes for USB 3.0 compared to USB 2.0.  So the power consumption is only 20% of USB 2.0.  So the battery lasts longer, about 5x longer just for the transfers…  USB 3.0 is better out of the box.”

There are some conditions, some secrets to the design at the system level to make sure this happen.  Basically, you need to be able to suspend the power to as much of the USB 3.0 elements as possible or shut down the power completely.

So Rahman points out USB 3.0 is coming to Tablets and Smart Phones in 2012, and theoretically he’s got some product knowledge as the CTO of the USB-IF.  I’m wondering if this is the TI OMAP 5 platform as announced by TI or something else?

USB at Home

You can install USB outlets at home for a mere $25.  Each port provides a full 1mA of charging which is good for charging your iPad or Kindle or Android phone, or BlackBerry or maybe your digital camera or cell phone. Got to FastMac.com for more info.   I know I could use them.

Today’s Donut Picture

I have a picture of a Tray of Donuts. I’m keeping it to myself.

 

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Please.

Pretty Please.

So it’s happened, the company the company that invested USB, and drove USB 2.0 and now USB 3.0 to success has certified their own USB 3.0 Host Controllers.  The USB-IF announcement image (and hyperlink) is below.

It looks like the Series 7 chips set goes into standard PCs that you and I will buy, so mostly laptops and desktops.  The C216 series appears to be for servers.

A link to the press release is here: http://www.usb.org/press/USB-IF_PantherPoint_FINAL.pdf.

AMD’s Certified PC Chipset – Where is it?

This follows AMD’s press release from back in April 2011 of a certified chipset.  We haven’t seen either in mass production, but we might guess that both will time their releases to coincide with wide scale Windows support.

Windows 8 with USB 3.0

Combined with the Microsoft Windows 8 announcement and demonstration of USB 3.0, Intel’s announcement means we are on the path to 1 Billions USB 3.0 enabled products in 2 years as consumers look to attach something to these speedy SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports.

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Subscribe now.  You know you want to.  It will be the lowest calorie activity you engage in today.

HP’s all in one TouchSmart 520 PC has 2 USB 3.0 Ports included in a beautiful, single unit touchscreen PC.

It has a BluRay burner, which is pretty cool too.  So HP beats Apple in features here. Read the PCWorld Review article here.

ADATA now waterproofed USB drives, so you can carry these around when you go scuba diving or stir your coffee with them.

You should note that the top speeds of these USB 3.0 drivers is 100 MB per second.

Top USB 2.0 speeds are 35 MB per second. Top USB 3.0 speeds are 350MB per second.

The ADATA speed is still 3x the speed of USB 2.0 which is definitely faster.  The speed limiting factor is actually the flash memory. It uses memory more expensive than memory found in today’s USB 2.0 drives, but still slower than needed to get the fastest USB 3.0 speeds.  Just keep this in mind.

The Kindle & USB – Viewer Mail

Ned writes in “"Interesting blog about the Kindle Fire and iPad.  I can’t, however, figure out what it has to do with USB…”

(Ned isn’t his real name.)

I’m glad you asked this question Ned.

This Tablet, the Kindle has only one wired interface, it’s USB 2.0.  It’s used for both charging and for content transfer.

For example, If you keep your music in the “Amazon Cloud” you can download via WiFi.

But, most people (I think) already have their entire MP3 library on a USB hard drive or a PC or both somewhere.

So it’s a lot faster to plug your Kindle Fire into a laptop or PC, and transfer all your Britney Spears and Rihanna music to your device.

You could upload your music to the Amazon Cloud, or even the Apple iCloud.  You’d then have access anywhere. And you could stream to your device.

Of course you need Wi-Fi or Broadband access to download these items.  So you still want to download with USB 2.0.

Why do you care?

Well, you’ll still need to charge your device now and in 2014.

And you’ll have even more content.

And you might not be willing to pay for a huge “cloud” to store all your data.

Are you going to trust all your kid’s photos to a single, on-line storage facility at Amazon or Apple?

Will you pay $500 a year for the storage, when a USB 3.0 drive costs only $100?

No.

You buy 2 USB 3.0 hard drives. You store your stuff there, and keep a small amount on the cloud.

So you will have USB 2.0 now and USB 3.0 soon on all your tablets and smart phones so you can keep carrying around a gazillion videos you recorded, pictures you took, and movies/TV shows you want to watch.

Kindle Fire TechRepublic Teardown

Here’s a picture from the TechRepublic teardown of the Kindle Fire.

It’s interesting to me because the RAM chip is mounted directly on top of the TI OMAP 4430 chip underneath.  As a digital guy I don’t know why someone does this, except to improve performance, and maybe lower power required.  Someone send me an e-mail to explain why or post a comment below.

You will see the TI OMAP 4430 actually appears to have 2 USB controllers.

One is an HSOTG port on the top right.

The other is in the bottom left, and looks like a USB 2.0 Host controller.

The new OMAP 5 platform as has 1 USB DRD port and 3 USB 3.0 ports. Block diagram and description can be seen here in my earlier blog entry on OMAP 5 and Tablets.

So TI’s already moving the next platform onto USB 3.0, so in 2 years we would see TI OMAP tablets with USB 3.0.

Donut

Post your questions in the comments below (or send me e-mails)

And here’s today’s Donut.

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