PCMCIA organization

The PCMCIA is shutting down, and selling its assets to the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). These include the ExpressCard standard and also include the associated compliance programs and copyright of PCMCIA’s logo and trademark’s authority.

Engadget reports that the first USB-3 device (a NEC host controller) is now available. Hopefully this means that consumer devices are coming soon. One of the first products we can expect is an ExpressCard-to-USB 3 adapter.

The PCMCIA organization announced that the ExpressCard Standard 2.0 is now available.

The new standard supports faster exchange rates, up to 10 times faster than the current standard (ver 1.2). It will support the latest PCI Express and USB 3.0, offering up to 5Gbps rates. It's backward compatible.

Back in March 2008, the PCMCIA organization announced that it's working on a new version to the  Expresscard Standard - ExpressCard 2.0.

Now they say that the new Format is almost complete. ExpressCard 2 will achieve between two to 10 times the speeds of the older standard. It will be compatiable with older devices. PCMCIA hope that the final version of the standard will be ready early in 2009, and products (and 'slots') are expected in 2010.

The PCMCIA organization announced that it is working on an 'upgrade' to the ExpressCard standard.

ExpressCard 2 will include:

• Double data transfer rates to 5Gb/s.
• Support for USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed USB)
• PCI Express (PCIe) 2.0 specification
• Compatiability with ExpressCard 1.0 products

PCMCIA today announced that MCCI has been selected as the first US Test House to offer compliance testing for the ExpressCard Standard.

MCCI, a USB-IF certified test lab, was approved as a third-party test house for ExpressCard products by the PCMCIA board. MCCI is the second test house to be approved to test ExpressCard products to ensure that they meet the Standard's requirements.

PCMCIA, the leading technology trade association for PC Card and ExpressCard technology, today announced that major notebook vendors have embraced ExpressCard(TM) technology as the modular expansion standard for their notebook systems.

Currently selling notebook computers with ExpressCard slots are Acer, Alienware, Apple, ASUS Computer, Averatec, Dell, Evesham, Fujitsu/Fujitsu Siemens, Itronix, HP, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Mouse Computer, MSI, PC-Koubou, Sony and Toshiba. All these companies have products available on the Web.