It has been eight years since an upgrade to the Unified Serial Bus (USB) specification — but was it worth the wait?

This new update of the USB will deliver greater power efficiency and the ability to recharge a wider variety of gadgets.

Here’s what you can expect:
* Data transfers ten times faster than USB 2.0 and six times faster than FireWire 800

* A new interrupt driven protocol that optimizes power management

* Power output bumps up to 900 milliamps from 100 milliamps — meaning it allows more devices to be charged faster

* Works with devices running the older USB 2.0

This superspeed rate of USB 3.0 makes data transfer more pervasive across devices than ever before.

As a consumer, you should expect everything from keyboards, mouse, PDAs, printers, digital cameras, personal media players — pretty much the entire spectrum of consumer electronics that can be connected to a host PC to be upgraded to this new standard.
Don’t expect USB 3.0 devices to show up until the end of 2009 or early 2010. However, you can get a glimpse into future devices sporting SuperSpeed USB as early as the annual Consumer Electronics Show in January 2009 — and don’t forget MEVIO will be covering CES with your favorite programs like GeekBrief TV, Cranky Geeks, DL.TV, MacNewsWeekly, and PC Mag Reviews.