FAQ About Super Speed USB 3.0 That You May Miss

Called super speed USB, USB 3.0 signifies a big progress that has most transformed computing in the recent years. USB 3.0 port is advantageous in various aspects, from its data transfer speed to compatibility with USB 2.0 gadgets, from capacity to performance. When USB 2.0 offer us 6x write speed, USB 3.0 has realized 12x. Now, the area that USB 3.0 technology covers has been extended to external hard drive from basic data backup. Now let's have a basic knowledge about some of the frequently asked questions about this advanced technology.

What is USB 3.0 port?

USB 3.0 port is just a step forward USB 2.0 ports. In the appearance, they do not have big difference, except a bright blue strip above the port opening. USB 3.0 is now major universal serial bus and it has greatly made the connection connection between PC and peripherals easily and simply. After a decade's domination of USB 2.0 in the PC world, USB 3.0 comes into being for the need for more speed by ever greater bandwidth demand from devices.

Advantages of USB 3.0

Generally, the USB 3.0 has advantages over USB 2.0 in these aspects, such as transfer speed up to 4.8Gbps, supporting new transfer types, great compatibility with USB 2.0, etc. The SuperSpeed USB can realize flexible interaction between device and host computer. Besides, the USB 3.0 can offer more power when needed. For example, those bus powered or battery powered devices can be charged at a faster speed and one of the major advantages of USB 3.0 lies in its power efficiency.

Improvements Expected From USB 3.0 Hubs

Although we can see a lot of improvements in USB 3.0 over USB 2.0, there are still drawbacks such as the cable length. USB 3.0 devices such as hubs are more expensive than the USB 2,0 hubs. Usually, for a super speed USB 3.0 hub, we can find two types of hubs, one for super speed, another hub at regular high speed. Anyway, with the competition of different USB 3.0 manufacturers, the price difference is not that sharp and acceptable.

New Application Allowed by USB 3.0

Generally, those high brand width gadget previously supported by USB 2.0 can work even better when USB 3.0 is applied. The USB 3.0 can be applied to hard drive, video adapters, flash drive, especially the high end flash drive, which USB 2.0 may fails to support with enough power or speed. We can gain a lot of convenience brought by USB 3.0 if we try to connect more electronic devices to a USB hub because USB 3.0 can offer more headroom for gadgets.

Then how the existing peripherals co-exist with USB 3.0?

There is no need to worry the retirement of the existing peripherals with the appearance of USB 3.0 because the latter has been planned initially to co-exist with USB 2.0. For one thing, USB 3.0 just defines new physical connection and the connector remains unchanged in shape with 4 USB 2.0 contacts in the exact same location as before.

Among all the applications of USB 3.0, external hard drives seem a good example, 3 times quicker than the USB 2.0 counterparts. They may be one of the big sellers at the moment.

Update Charging Brick For Something Better

Every new digital gadget we purchase will come along with its own matched charging brick and cable. That's great at first. But with the electronic devices we buy grow in numbers, we will have  a lot of charging cables, charging bricks or even wall adapters, scattering all around the room or in the drawer. Will you find it a trouble when we attempt to find the exact chargers and cables for one device yet to find them wind up in a mess? Actually, there is no need to use all of these chargers or we do not need all of them. 

Luckily, most of the chargers for our electronics are compatible and interchangeable. It’s easy to choose one single charger for all of the digital devices. Most of our chargers that go with different devices are USB supported ones, and we can use USB port to trade for a handful of the chargers. 

As long as our electronics can be powered via USB, most of the USB charging cable or USB supported wall brick can be substituted by the one USB charger or USB port for powering the devices, just in the way that our computer is connected to the devices for data transfer or powering. Of course, some of the new electronics may need some different charger or cable, such as micro USB, then we just need to prepare some mini USB. Anyway, we need to update a mess of chargers and cables with a free USB port. Or we can power multiple devices via several USB ports connected to one USB hub instead of plugging into the wall. 

If you have no idea of using the USB port and still want to charge the device via the charging brick, just bring one such brick along with you. Ensure the charging brick falls into the type which enables you to plug the USB cable into the brick itself. In this case, we can use the charging brick with any other devices that are to be charged via USB.  

Change the Charging Brick With USB Hub with Surge Protector

Nowadays the appearance of the USB hub with multiple ports just clear up our desk that is originally a mess of charging brick and cables. Have you ever tried the USB hub? The fact that such USB hub with more ports as well as build-in surge protector allows a fast, reliable and secure connectivity to various digital devices and that means we can turn any single plug into enough plugs for powering various devices at one time. 

The hub has great compatibility in that it supports Windows, OS X, Linux and all USB 2.0, very great and convenient option for connecting our computer and USB storage devices. The sleek beauty of the portable surge protector makes it good choice at home or even on the go. The speed is fast enough. 

There are a lot of USB hubs in the market that can ultimately allow us to leave various charging bricks behind at home. We won't need anything else. It is obvious that the USB hub with multiple ports may be the best option if we have to charge more than one devices at the same time quickly.   

Different Chargers Available For Choice

When we buy a new smartphone, we will also get a wall charger for the phone. Actually, we can use other charger models for powering the phone. When our basic wall charger has something wrong, we will get new chargers. We need to consider when and where we will charge our devices. There are even chargers even powered by different energy sources. We can get a spare charger in case of loss or breakage. We can get a solar cell phone if we are often on the go. 

The first thing we need to consider upon getting a charger is compatibility. There may be some chargers that just fail to be plugged into our phone. If we do not want to be bothered with this problem, we can turn to micro-USB charging port. Of course, some of the phones will not be compatible with the mini USB chargers. 

With so many options of charger, how to make the decision? It is really no need to prepare all of those new types of chargers available in the market. We can see the chargers nowadays updated in the market have some basic features. Some are best for home or office use while some are designed specifically for the car. For those people who have trip often can choose a charger that runs on an alternative fuel source. In an emergency, a battery-powered cell phone charger could potentially save a life. If we have more devices but not enough chargers, we can try docking station that can charge more devices via the USB ports at the same time. 

As for the charging docking station, the phone can slip into the docking station via charging port. It’s very convenient to use the docking station for we can still use the phone while it is in charge. We can see some of the docking stations with speakers for listening to music stored on the phone. We can charge devices via docking station with multiple ports with our family members at one time. several mobile devices to charge at one time. Similar to docking station, we can use charge mats for convenient charging, and the charging mat has no direct port connection.

If we are often on the go, we can get vehicle cell phone chargers or charging adapter for the vehicle. Our car charger can power the smart phone via the vehicle’s battery. During a trip to different countries, we don’t have to worry about varying voltages if we have chargers that can run on alternative energy. It’s efficient. Here comes an even more eco friendly charger - solar charger. The solar charger can store the solar power in a battery for later use. When we get solar panels, we need to know they differ in efficiency. The solar charger usually comes with various adapters for maximum compatibility, but the only disadvantage is the dependence on direct sunlight. If there is no sunlight and we are also outside without electricity power, how to charge the electronics? We can use hand crank cell phone chargers. They can be of great help in emergency situations and inclement weather since they are powered by hand, with electricity being generated via our own muscle power.  

The chargers are just updated at a very fast speed.When looking for a new phone charger, the importance of device compatibility cannot be stressed enough. Aside from that, we need to consider our habits and lifestyle to determine when and where we most often need a charge.  

Phone Charger With Innovative Design

Is the phone charger you use is the one that goes with the phone when you bought it? Or have you ever noticed some of the innovative cell phone chargers others use? Are those new USB phone chargers or phone chargers with new design concept just a bunch of non-sense that you will never waste your dollars on? If you are the one that will be easily frustrated when the phone is out of battery yet can see no power outlet available or you are always on the go, you will love some of the new phone chargers that are eco friendly and can offer you power during the trip. If you are fashion conscious person, you will be attracted by the innovative design of the phone chargers.  

Later I will share some of the chargers with innovative design. You will find the phone chargers can be of great help during your long airplane ride or camping trips. Besides the sustainability, the chargers are much about user practicality. Of course, some of the phone chargers are not only practical, but also very nice accessory. 

Ever try to wear phone chargers on your wrist?
If you are outside for several days’ camping, you will love this wrist-wearable charger. It is a solar powered battery charger. When fully charged, it can offer several hours of charge for the camera, phones, and other electronic device. With output of 5 Watts at 1 Amp, it is enough to recharge a phone in about half an hour. We can wear the portable battery as a wrist watch, really chic accessory. Unlike other portable power sources, the wrist wearable charger is much compact and we will hardly misplace it during outdoor activities. Though not meant to last long, it can offer power long enough for us to find an outlet to charger the phone. In this sense, it is still a good addition for on-the-go. Still, it can be a very cool fashion accessory. 

Try bamboo charger for green tech 
The charger is made out of 100% natural bamboo and the design of the charger just advances the green tech. With the smart solar charger, we do not have to worry about the phone power dies out. It makes use of the sun to charge any USB supported digital gadgets and the charger is put inside sustainable bamboo case. So eco-friendly. Moreover, the charger can even help keep you safely connected during a whole day of hiking up and down the peaks.

Make your sneakers a charger
Instead of rushing back home for charging your digital devices, you can charge your device while walking. A really ‘wow’ device, right? It is basically shifting the movement into electric energy, or specifically, the movement of our body, run or walk, will charge the battery of our devices. Really innovative design. It is a charger especially great help for those on the go and fail to keep up with the battery need of their electronic devices. It is cool to see the device just fit inside of sneakers. 

Juice Box Shaped Charger

This is a very cute and innovative charger with juice box shape. It just breaks out the traditional portable chargers in the design. We can easily imagine that our phone needs some energy when they are out of power. We supply the phone energy via the drink container. Super fresh idea. The charger is a normal charging port that can support most of the phone models with the USB outlet. We can use it to charge our camera, phone, MP3 player or other USB devices.  

USB hub with multiple ports 

The multiple ports from one USB hub can charge various devices at the same time. We no longer need to wait for an open plug to charge our iphone or tablet. The multi-port charger is perfect for office and with this charger, we do not need to ask others for a charger or bring with us chargers from home. The data transfer rate of the charger is rather fast. Just plug and play. No driver required. Convenient. 

There are a lot of chargers with new design concept. It is time that you update your chargers. 

Difference Between USB 2.0 & 3.0 Device

What type of USB hub are you currently using now, USB 2.0 or USB 3.0? In the digital market, we can find a lot of USB 3.0 devices and the popularity of USB 3.0 derives from its advantages over USB 2.0 in various aspects, such as very high data transfer rate, higher power availability, better power management, etc. Besides, the USB 3.0 devices can still work compatibly with USB 2.0 devices, hubs or other ports. When the PC users need more USB 3.0 ports than their PC or docking station provides, there is external USB 3.0 hub available. 

We know the updating of USB 3.0 from USB 2.0 is partly for the speed. Then how much faster is USB 3.0? Can it realize a great improvement if we upgrade our old USB 2.0 flash drives? Let’s have a further look at the difference between the two different USB hubs. 

In aspect of theoretical maximum signaling rate, USB 2.0 can provide a rate of 480 megabits per second, while USB 3.0 5 gigabits per second. In this way, USB 3.0 is theoretically faster than USB 2.0. But in reality, this standard just specifies the maximum data transfer rate via a USB port. USB drives will be obstructed by the speed of their flash memory. In the real world, the worst USB 3.0 drive was faster than the USB 2.0 drives, but only by a tiny bit. Or even some of the USB 3.0 drives are known to perform at similar speeds to USB 2.0 devices.

Then let's come to their price difference. Price is a huge factor that differentiates the USB 3.0 and USB 2.0. We can find a lot of USB 2.0 flash drives offered at very cheap price in the market, and maybe $10 is enough for getting a decent 2.0 flash drive of 8 GB USB. But for a USB 3.0 drive, we need to spend around $40. If you just need a small and cheap drive, USB 2.0 is enough. If you want a hard drive that is used frequently, and transfer speed is what you care much, choose a USB 3.0 drive. In general, the faster the USB device is, the more expensive their price will be. 

As a fantastic upgrade of USB 2.0, some types of USB devices are not that fast, such as USB mouse or USB 3.0 keyboard, with no improvement in input speed. Nevertheless, USB 3.0 will take place of USB 2.0 devices. Given the backwards compatibility, we can switch to USB 3.0 devices. But also, we can save dollars by just plugging USB 2.0 devices into USB 3.0 ports. 

USB Hubs Add Connectivity to More Devices

Sometimes, we just encounter with such a situation that we have several electronic devices out of power at the same time, but we only have one USB port. It is really disappointing when we can do nothing but wait for each of the devices to get charged one by one. If we get a hub with more ports, things will be easier.

How to Choose USB Hubs

We can find a lot of USB hubs in the market for computers or other digital devices. The USB hubs come in all shapes, sizes and configurations. We can find internal USB hubs, external powered USB hubs, USB 1.1, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 hub. Faced with so many usb hubs, we need to take into consideration several questions before we get a new USB HUB, such as the devices we use, the ports of the laptop, the usb hubs we have already had. If we have more devices, we need to get hub with multiple ports. If we are often on the go, we need to get some USB hubs that are portable, compact and perfect for traveling.

Four USB Hub As Best Deal

We can spend more dollars to get a newest model, say, USB 3.0 hub with multiple ports that can offer super fast data transfer speed and enough power supply to high power usb devices. We can also spend less to get USB 2.0 hub that is enough to solve our need of more than one port to charge the gadgets. For different needs and budget, we can get the USB hubs we need. But here, i just want to try to share some USB hubs that is considered the best & cheapest deal.

iDsonix USB 3.0 10 Port Hub On/Off Switch

This is a USB Hub 3.0 with 10 ports. The hub has an additional on/off buttons as well as a LED indicator lights that can tell us which USB ports are in use at any given time. The hub is compatible with USB 2.0, or 1.1 devices. The charging port can give out enough current to devices from a smart phone to a laptop or tablet. The data transfer rate can reach up to 5Gbps, super fast.

Anker 7-Port or 9-Port USB 3.0 Hubs

A lot of digital gadget lovers may not strange to the brand Anker. The USB 3.0 hubs are also very popular, for its unique design. It has very small size and a lot of the on-the-go love to use it and place the hub in the bag. The Hubs are actually not the cheapest models around, but it is still worth your investment.

Macally Mini 7-Port USB 2.0 Hub

You will love the pyramid shape. The hub has very simple design, and the price is affordable. Moreover, it is much functional. If you don’t need seven ports, you can also get a four-port Macally hub.

Belkin 2 in 1 USB 2.0 7 Port Hub

It comes with a power adapter, but runs fine without it. This USB hub come with seven ports, enough for charging several devices at one time.. It can hold paper clips and the like in the area around it. Plus the grey part unplugs and goes along wherever you go offering 4 extra ports. It is also a very affordable hub.

Choose Right USB Hubs For Easy Connectivity

While there are many choices with USB hubs, be sure to take the time to find the right one for you. Color and size may be importable, but pay much attention to the uses and positioning of current and future devices. Making the right choice can simplify life, save money, and ensure a great networking experience.

7 Tips Help You Charge USB Powered Devices Faster

You must have such situations that you need to leave your home very soon while your smart phone is still not fully charger and you have to charge it as much as possible in very limited time. If you plug it into the laptop or computer, it will even take more time. Slow charging speed will make you feel uncomfortable. Here we have shared you some of the tips that will help make the phone charge very fast. Just read on. 

1. If you really like to charge your smart phone through your computer, instead of USB 2.0, try to use USB 3.0 or a dedicated charging if possible. Not all ports of the laptop or computer will supply the same amount of power. USB 1.0 and USB 2.0 are capable of 500mA of power, while USB 3.0 can deliver nearly double power, which usually reaches 900mA, that means faster. You can also choose a dedicated charging port that can offer power of even 1500mA. You have to know that the higher the supply of power, the faster your phone will be fully charged.If you happen to be lucky enough to have a plug outlet that is already wired for USB, you could be looking at speeds of up to 2,100mA.

2. USB 3.0 port charger is suggested. The USB 3.0 charger is well known for its faster data transfer sped and you will be glad to see its 900mA, almost reaching the powerful performance of AC wall chargers. So if you have no USB 3.0 charger, just get one for more powerful pace.  

3.Avoid the USB hub if you really need faster charging. Charging your smartphone via USB hub will just makes the charging speed slower by 50%, especially if your hub has no AC power connection. Choose a dedicated USB port for charging your digital devices. 

4.Just as i have said above, the higher power supply, the faster charging speed. Yes, you can choose to a bigger machine, or AC-wired USB power that can offer power twice of that of traditional charger or the speed can be 4 times faster than that of USB 2.0 port on the computer. For those larger and older computer, they have bigger batteries. You can use them to charge your phone instead of Ultrabooks.

5.Try a docking station. Docking station is thought to be slower than AC wall charger. But it can charge the smart phone at a speed 1.5 faster than that of usb 2.0 port. 

6. If you are driving a car out and your phone is out of power. Instead of charging it with a portable USB charger, just charge your smart phone via the car charger. This inexpensive usb charger can offer 1000to 2500mA , charging the phone within one hour.  

7. Switch off your phone and this is one of the ways that can speed up the charging. If you are too concerned about your phone calls and messages to respond back, then try to read on. The phone will try to search for possible signal and that just makes it use more charge. You can put the phone in Airplane mode or try an amplifier to stimulate the battery. If you do not switch the phone off, try to turn off vibration which will grab more charge. Or turn off apps when you are putting your phone in charge. This is because the more you make your phone to use a memory, the more it eats your charge. 

Tips for Charging Mobile Phones or Tablets

Will you think more about the safety use of the phone chargers or other USB charging port when you charge your devices every day? Have you ever thought about how to charge the phone in a faster and safer way or how to charge the phone easily when you are out for a trip? Let's have a look at some tips about using the chargers.

In the past years, we see more and more mini USB chargers, or the charging device with micro USB ports. The use of the standardized chargers just makes our life easier. The standardized charging ports just realize spare chargers when we are out, but of course, with exception to Apple's iPhone. Actually, the standardized charging port still brings us confusion with charging speeds depending on the charger and charging method. The choice of a wrong usb charger requires longer charging time. We need to check the charger about its output voltage and current. An iPad requires 2 Amps for charging. While iPhone charger gets 1 Amp of current and a computer 0.5 Amps of current.

How to Prolong Lifespan of Charger Battery

As we all know, batteries have limited charge cycles or lifespan. So does the battery for charger. The lifespan of lithium-ion phone charger battery can be prolonged if we use it on a regular basis. We should not leave the battery drained out of battery every time. It’s much better to charge the phone when we find the battery dropped below 50% and this can help increase the charge circles.

Turn off the phone while charging

If you do not need to use your mobile phone while it is charged, you can choose to turn off the phone. In this way, it will charge in a faster speed because there is no use of power for those power draining features like data, GPS, or screen.

Portable Chargers for Mobile Charging

For those who have lots of time spent outdoors, a portable battery pack is a great option. Without any access to power socket, the portable battery packs can work as a good replacement of your wall charger. For its portability, we can carry it in our backpack. The portable charger can charge our phones several times. Keep in mind, that we still need to check the output current of the battery pack and avoid those cheap chargers with output at about 0.5 Amps. Choose portable battery packs that can offer 1 Amp or even 2Amps for tablet and that can ensure very fast charging.

Wireless Charging

The appearance of wireless charging is a revolution of the chargers that we have used. We do not need cable and we just make use of electromagnetic induction to charge our phones, very convenient. If we choose wireless charging, we will not see too many cables or wires at a mess on the desk. In public areas, we do not need to carry our own charging wires and charging can also be very easy. Now wireless charging technology is available for Nokia Lumia 920 and the Google Nexus 4. To charge other smart phones, we need a compatible charging mat.

No matter what type of the chargers or charging we choose, USB charger, wireless charging or the traditional AC wall charger, we need to make sure the charger with right current output and top up the battery regularly to prolong its lifetime.

Computer Peripherals That You May Find Cool & Useful

What kind of computer peripheral devices do you have right now? Besides the host computer, we need more peripherals such as USB Hubs, USB gadgets, keyboards, monitors, mouse, speakers, joystick and more gadgets for a fast and enjoyable networking experience. If you are tech geek, you will surely get those PC gears updated lately in the market. It’s true that many of the common PC gadgets can be found on your desk. But I bet there are still some cool computer or digital peripherals that you may not have. Let’s continue.

Powered USB Hub

I know a lot of digital gadget lovers will have USB hubs, but do you have powered hubs. Compared with those non powered USB hubs, powered usb hub is more versatile, without any need of attaching a small power brick to an outlet. A powered USB hub can connect various USB supported gadgets with the current they need. If you have more than one piece or one type of digital devices to charge, the powered USB hubs will be of great use. They can charge multiple tablets, smart phones or other USB powered hard drive and devices.  

USB Folding Keyboard

So this is a very funny computer gadget, and it can be folded into our pocket, just amazing. When we use the computer at home, a full sized keyboard is convenient, but when on a trip, you will never want to bring it with you. This compact folding keyboard is perfect for netbook users and can give you extra space in the bag.  

USB 3.0 Flash Drive

The USB drive is one of the coolest inventions for computer and it just makes sense to have one flash drive or two with you. What is the flash drive you currently use? Does it offer very fast read speed and write speed? You will love mini USB 3.0 flash drive as the tiny flash drive, with similar size to that of coin has polish design and still with acceptably fast read speeds, 80 MB/s.

Cool Wireless Headphone

Stereo phones are the digital peripherals that we definitely need when we want to hear the sound at office or in public areas. Almost every computer user has headphone, but which type? To get a natural sound and comfortable around-ear fit, we need to get a high quality headphone, say this Bluetooth-enabled wireless headphone, with removable adapter that can offer about 7 hours of run time. A built in microphone enables us to make phone calls. If you are mature tech geek, you will love to have a headphone that offers the flexibility of wireless with a great-sounding and comfortable headset .

These gadgets and computer peripherals are now hitting the market. Just follow the latest digital gadgets and get some to upgrade your desk.