USB 1.1 Renumbered To USB 2?

Teese writes "According to this Bangkok Post article, in December the USB Forum renamed USB 1.1 to USB 2, and USB 2 stayed as USB 2. They did this because consumers were demanding that the computers they buy have USB2 on board. The story also claims that both Sony & toshiba have released laptops with the USB2 that is really USB1.1. This was the first I had heard of this and the article said the change took place in December, has the USB Forum really been able to pull a fast one on us?"

Comments

standards should not change

[juan2074]

The USB 2.0 standard calls for data transfer speeds of 480Mbits/s (over 40 times faster than USB 1.1). If a product is released as USB 2.0 compliant, it had better be able to meet that requirement.

Once the standard is released to the world, the standards body cannot expect consumers to accept USB 1.1 as USB 2.0.

If your product fails to meet the USB 2.0 standard (as we know it), it will be returned as defective and the consumer will go buy something else that meets his/her needs.

USB naming has always been goofy

[cant_get_a_good_nick]

My fave is that USB 1.1 tops out at "Full" speed, while faster USB 2.0 is "High" speed. Shouldn't full speed be the fastest? These guys didn't think to forward proof themselves?

Re:Slight wording difference (more info)

[AvitarX]

I read it, I have a correction:

Firewire is 400Mb/s not 400 MB/s

Also does anyone besides me think full speed sounds quicker then high speed?

Lastly USB 1.1 ports can support USB 2 devices according to the thing on Iomega.

This means that most people will probably just think that external drives in general suck, and will not blame it on the manufacturer changing the name.

Re:Argh....Yet another reason not to buy Sony

[AndyMan!]

Sony equipment is over-priced junk. You're buying a name and nothing else. I recommend that people buy any other Japanese knock-off brand. You'll be happier and have more dollars left in your pocket.

In terms of camcorders, this could not be more wrong.

I'm a freefall videographer. This means I jump from not-so-perfectly good airplanes with a camera bolted to my helmet. Because of weight issues, we use consumer grade "camcorders" almost exclusively. We never use "profesional" cameras, they're just too damn heavy. I'm currently using a Sony DRC-PC120BT.

Skydiving is clearly a harsh environment. Cameras get put into 200MPH winds, intense vibrations and g-forces as the parachute opens.

I've never seen a Panasonic, JVC, Sharp or Canon survive more then a few monthes.

I've never seen a Sony survive less then a few years.

Everytime I see someone show up with a brand new non-sony camera, I shake my head. Usually within 3 monthes it's tossed into the bin, and that person is buying a Sony - which will usually last for years.

There's a rule in skydiving videography: Always buy Sony, there IS a difference.

_Am

Re:Huh?

[bobwoodard]

The only thing I can figure is that they didn't like the old logo and only had space for 3 letters in the new logo.

This is from their marketing page:

Low or Full-speed Product Packaging Recommendations:

Products that operate at only low or full-speed can qualify to use only the Basic Version of the logo (i.e. without the special Hi-Speed identifier). The old USB logo is obsolete and should not be used. The USB-IF recommends vendors simply use "USB" as has always been done, on packaging and in marketing materials for low or full-speed USB products. Avoid using terminology such as USB 2.0 Full Speed, Full Speed USB or USB 2.0 which can be confusing for consumers whose expectation is that a USB 2.0 product is by definition high-speed.

advantage FireWire

[u19925]

Now FireWire proponents can say that the standard FireWire is 35x faster than USB 2 Full Speed. Also, FireWire-800 already available is about 75x faster than USB 2 and FireWire-3200 to be available soon would be about 300x faster than USB 2 Full Speed.

Re:Huh?

[thx2001r]

Wow,

Microsoft was not innovating here! Steve, you guys were just stealing from Apple again!

They've been using those types of phrases for years now!

turbocharged

full-throttle

scorchingly fast

phenomenal speeds

superior I/O performance

unbelievably affordable

tremendous value

rejoice in the fact that there are no controls to adjust

faster than ever

new technologies

massively enhanced

dramatically increases

way faster than USB 2.0

Off-the-charts

fearsomely fast

the ultra fast realm

lightning fast processor speeds

ultra fast

an even faster level

push the digital video envelope beyond its known limits

record time (and I thought it was only Quick time!)

convenient second optical bay at the front

Thrives in a Windows environment (makes you wonder why you would buy one if it's gonna be all alone in a yucky, non-fearsomely fast Windows environment?)

Apples legendary SuperDrive (and all this time I thought it was manufactured elsewhere, I guess Apple must have invented it after all... I mean, if it were invented by Philips, it'd be called 2x or 4x DVD-RW... but since Apple invented it, it's a SuperDrive! Yeah baaaa-by!!!),

also, MacOSX is, according to Apple, the most advanced operating system on the planet (featuring: Mac OS X Jaguar gives you advantages like preemptive multitasking, symmetric multiprocessing and multithreading to take your productivity to new levels!!! Wow, I sure wish there were other OS's out there like that!)

Heck, all those yummy marketing terms are on just one web page!!! Imagine what the rest of the site or an Apple Store has to offer. Of course, after your diligent work, Microsoft's site is also catching up, I think you'll be proud to know!

Re:This is hilarious!

[srn_test]

Not the Gareth Powell who was sacked from the Sydney Morning Herald for stealing other peoples work and passing it off as his own?

Not the one who had aus.flame.gareth-powell created to celebrate his incredible incompetence as a tech writer?

If it's him then you can safely ignore this entire article.

Real marketing...

[AntiOrganic]

I haven't heard any news about this, and I have several gripes with this story:

First off, the article mentioned that USB1.1 had been changed to USB2, while leaving USB2 the same. Referencing the USB Implementers Forum website referenced by the article at http://www.usb.org, I couldn't find a single reference to USB 2.0. Seems USB 1.1 has been renamed "Original USB" where USB 2.0 is "Hi-Speed USB." (Check the FAQ under the question "How fast is USB?") This is an awfully big difference from what the article purports.

Secondly, I think most reputable manufacturers of hardware components to those who build their own PCs, such as motherboard chipsets, add-in USB2 (ha!) cards, etc. would maintain the older numbering scheme so as not to confuse their target market.

I think the source of this article's confusion comes from devices marked "Hi-Speed USB 2.0." Apparently this labeling scheme is supposed to combine the "USB 2.0" that older enthusiasts are familiar with, with the "Hi-Speed USB" that the USB Implementers Forum is pushing now.

Doing your own research is nicer than relying on a poorly-researched article.

Re:and I ain't talk about the movie with the bus.

[Zeinfeld]

I would be seriously peaved if it was not real USB-480, but fortunately it is. Whew!

IANAL but it appears to me that if USB 1.1 was renamed in the way suggested for the purpose of confusing customers a company that took advantage of the change could well be breaking the law.

The point is that users have been led to expect a certain set of capabilities from USB 2.0 which cannot be changed retrospectively by fudging the spec.

This is a pretty elementary point of contract law, if a confusion is created by one side the confusion is ruled against them, particularly if they deliberately created the confusion.

This being so I very much doubt that the standards group did any such thing that is being suggested here. It just makes no sense from a legal perspective, it is false advertising.