Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) has developed the new ExpressCard standard to carry forward the benefits of 'plug-in' I/O cards to the next generation of personal computing devices. The new technology is designed to be the successor to the PC Card standard, and is already being integrated into laptops from Fujitsu-Siemens Computers, IBM, and Toshiba.
Pros: Smaller, faster and uses less power than PC Cards
Cons: Not compatible with existing PC Card technology
ExpressCard takes advantage of the new PCI Express interconnect technology and USB 2.0 to improve the bandwidth of peripheral features such as television tuners, Bluetooth adapters, and flash memory cards. The new technology is designed to replace the ageing PC Card standard and its expensive interface.
ExpressCards can use a half-duplex, 480Mbit/s Hi-Speed USB 2.0 interface or the faster full-duplex, single-lane, 2.5-Gbit/s PCI Express interface. An optional, half-duplex 100Kbit/s SMBus for system management may be useful for some devices.
There are two sizes of ExpressCard module, both of which are smaller that today's CardBus card. The smallest card, the ExpressCard/34 module, is almost half the size of a CardBus card. This is expected to be well suited to a broad range of applications covering communications, media, and general purpose add-ins.
The standard also specifies a wider card, ExpressCard/54 module, which will support those technologies that require a physically larger module, such as smartcard readers, CompactFlash adapters, and 1.8in. hard disks.
All ExpressCard modules are 5mm thick but the standard also allows for card developers to build longer 'extended' modules. These can have thicker portions which project beyond the envelope of the host system. Mobile and Desktop host systems can provide ExpressCard/34 slots when space is at a premium, or the wider Universal ExpressCard slot to accommodate both module sizes. The smaller cards also use less power and are less expensive to manufacture.
BIOS, Mar 14, 05 | Print | Send | Comments (0)
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