what is usb 3.0

USB 3.0, released in November 2008, is the third major version of the Universal Serial Bus standard for interfacing computers and electronic devices. It is also known as SuperSpeed USB. The main difference between USB 3.0 and its predecessors is the significant improvement in data transfer speed. USB 3.0 has a transfer rate of 5 Gbit/s, which is about 10 times faster than the previous standard, USB 2.0, which has a transfer rate of 480 Mbps. USB 3.0 ports can be identified by their blue color or by a "SS" (SuperSpeed) logo. They have 9 pins and are backward compatible with USB 2.0 devices. USB 3.0 also provides more efficient power management, offering up to 900 mA of power compared to the 500 mA provided by USB 2.0