14 DAY TRIAL // USB 3.0 has definitely been one of the most well-known technological advancements of 2009, along with 3D and DirectX 11 graphics. The new interface is significantly superior to the USB 2.0 version, but has not yet seen widespread adoption among hardware makers because there are very few motherboards that support it. Granted, companies like Buffalo, Gigabyte, Brando, PQI and others have launched motherboards, controllers or storage solutions compatible with the new standard, but PCs with built-in USB 3.0 functionality are still hard to come by. To appease speedy data-transfer enthusiasts, HP announced that it would be giving USB 3.0 capabilities to its Envy 15 laptops.
Compared with USB 2.0, USB 3.0 enables data-transfer rates of 5Gbps and also boasts more power over bus, removing the need for AC adapters or decreasing the time it takes for certain devices to charge up. These are the two main reasons for the significant amount of USB 3.0 flash drives, external hard drives, optical drives and other products that have been released based on the new standard. The number of motherboards with USB 3.0 is limited, but solutions like ASUS' U3S6 USB 3.0 PCIe Adapter can be used as substitutes.
As one of the first genuine USB 3.0-equipped PCs, HP's Envy 15 laptop will combine the high read and write speeds of the new universal serial bus with the performance provided by quad-core Intel Core i7 central processing units and the graphics capabilities enabled by ATI 5380 graphics.
"HP Direct (our online store) does now sell the Envy 15 with the USB 3.0 along with the new ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5830 Graphics (DX11)," HP spokeswoman Sheila Watson said in response to an e-mail query from CNET on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, it seems that HP will not restrict USB 3.0 to Envy 15, as the company has planned to launch EliteBook models with USB 3.0 in just a few weeks. In addition, ASUS will also be providing its own such devices, such as the N61Jq model.