The present day USB 2.0 delivers a transfer speed of upto 480 Mbps, whereas USB 3.0 promises 10 times of this speed taking the transfer rate to 4.8 Gbps.
Moreover, It will be backwards-compatible with USB 2.0, which is backwards-compatible with the first USB 1.1 definition.
Intel stated that the USB 3.0 specification would be optimized for low power and improved protocol efficiency. The USB 3.0 ports and cabling will be designed with both copper and optical cable capabilities, meaning even higher speeds will be possible in the future. “USB 3.0 is the next logical step for the PC’s most popular wired connectivity,” said Jeff Ravencraft, technology strategist with Intel and president of the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). “The digital era requires high-speed performance and reliable connectivity to move the enormous amounts of digital content now present in everyday life. USB 3.0 will meet this challenge while maintaining the ease-of-use experience that users have come to love and expect from any USB technology.”
He further said : “If the USB 3.0 Promoter’s group meets its objective of spec completion in the first half of 2008, then we should see the first silicon solutions on the market in 2009, followed by end products in late 2009 or early 2010.”