14 DAY TRIAL // When the USB 3.0 technology came out, it was rather clear that its tenfold increase in performance, compared with the performance of the USB 2.0, would make it an instant winner, but real widespread availability has been difficult to achieve because it is not natively supported on many motherboards. This, however, doesn't seem to have discouraged hardware makers from experimenting with the new interface. In fact, NEC, the supplier of USB 3.0 controllers, revealed not so long ago that it had already sold over three million.
NEC now finds itself in a position where its yields cannot keep up with demand. As such, the company has decided to double its monthly production, which essentially means that, starting with April, two million units of the certified SuperSpeed USB product known as µPD720200 will be made every month.
This will likely affect prices of USB 3.0 products. It is interesting to note that USB 3.0 reached three million shipments in just six months, whereas the USB 2.0 only achieved the same figure in thrice that time. This is the clearest indicator of just how popular the new standard has already become.
“The strong sales of NEC Electronics’ USB-IF certified host controller clearly indicates the extraordinary adoption of SuperSpeed USB into consumer products,” Jeff Ravencraft, president and chairman, USB-IF, said. “Introduced just over a year ago, SuperSpeed USB has become the world’s most widely watched technology, dramatically enhancing the speed with which consumers can transfer their data by providing the fastest USB experience available.”
“We are very pleased to continue to contribute to the promotion of the USB standard and technology. Moreover, it is very exciting to push the standard and technology up to the next level, the 5Gbps-SuperSpeed-USB era, with NEC Electronics’ host controller,” Osamu Matsushima, general manager, Industry and Network Division, NEC Electronics Corporation, explained. “As a core member of USB-IF, NEC Electronics intends to continually dedicate itself to achieve the advancement and standardization of USB.”
Information on NEC's USB 3.0 host controller may be found on the official website.