14 DAY TRIAL // The USB Implementers Forum is nearing the last stages of development for the USB 3.5 standard, which means that companies with a possible stake in the technology are moving too.
Case in point, ASMedia has already put together a USB 3.5 host controller. Or at least set up the stage to have one ready by the time the specification is released, next year (2014).
Normally, ASMedia, and everyone in the USB-IF really, would take their time to meticulously put together a totally new generation of Universal Serial Bus.
The performance would go up by a factor of 10, just like USB 3.0 brought the top transfer speed from 480 Mbps to 4.8 Gbps (usually rounded to 5 Gbps).
The Thunderbolt connection technology, however, promoted by Intel and Apple, runs at 10 Gbps and has quite high capabilities in daisy-chaining and display streaming.
Naturally, the USB 3.5 will be meant to directly compete with it, before it has a chance to usurp much of its consumer base.
Then again, one year is a long time. By the time USB 3.5 comes out, Thunderbolt may have expanded its consumer base significantly.
Either way, whether USB 3.5 turns into a preemptive measure or a way to conduct marketing damage control, ASMedia will have a lot to gain if it is part of the first wave of hub controllers.
After all, even USB 3.0 had been around for many months by the time Advanced Micro Devices and Intel included the functionality straight in their motherboard chipsets.
There's even a chance for those chip giants to skip USB 3.5 and wait until USB 4.0 before upgrading the USB hub capabilities of their platforms. It's not probable, but it is possible.
ASMedia and all others who are involved in USB 3.0 marketing (and intend to be part of the USB 3.5 movement) are lucky. Even though thunderbolt has been around for 2 years, it is rarely encountered, and made only by Intel. The high prices of the controllers, compared to USB, don't help.