The USB 3.0 standard has been around for several years now, but most smartphone and tablet devices have remained stuck with the older, slower USB 2.0. According to Rahman Ismail, chief technology officer for the USB Implementers Forum, that is about to change. Speaking at CES, Ismail said that MicroUSB technology would be available and coming to the smartphone/tablet market by the end of the year.

The new technology offers data transfer speeds between computers and mobile devices of roughly 100 megabytes per second, or 800 megabits per second (Mbps). While that is not much compared to the nearly 5 gigabits per second available between PCs with USB 3.0, it is nearly double the 480 Mbps available for mobile devices with USB 2.0.

Data transfer isn’t the only area of improvement, either. In most of our gadgets these days, USB does double duty: data transfer and charging. In addition to significantly faster data transfer, the newer standard also improves the power transfer speeds, which means faster charging for tablets and smartphones with the technology.

[Source: PC World]