USB to power notebooks?

The USB 3.0 Promoter Group, the body comprising of various big-name companies in the industry, has announced it is creating a new power delivery specification, which will make a huge difference to the capabilities of USB cables.

The Group, formed by Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Microsoft Corporation, Renesas Electronics, ST-Ericsson and Texas Instruments, developed the USB 3.0 specification and it now wants to expand on its power potential.

The new specification will enable more power by USB connectors and cables – up to 100W, in fact. That's enough to potentially power a notebook and other key characteristics will include compatibility with existing cables and connectors, plus switchable source of power delivery, without changing cable direction.

Targeted for industry review during the final quarter of the year, more detail will also be handed out at San Francisco's Intel Developer Forum in September

“Building on the rapidly increasing industry momentum for using USB bus power to charge a broad range of mobile devices, the new USB Power Delivery specification extends USB’s cable power delivery capabilities beyond simple battery charging,” says Brad Saunders, USB 3.0 Promoter Group chairman. “For example, charging the battery of a notebook PC, or simply powering that notebook PC while actively using the USB data connection, would be possible. Conceivably, a notebook PC could rely solely on a USB connection for its source of power.”

It's not just notebooks that could benefit from this development, either. Monitors could also be charged, potentially, in the same way and consumers would doubtless praise any power solution that means no more need for specific AC adapters.

The new specification accounts for ensuring that voltage and current values will be negotiated over the USB power pins, ensuring that connected devices determine the power they will need and low-power devices aren't damaged in the process.