ExpressCard Press Room

Take me to the CeBIT 2008 Online Press Room

• March 2008: PCMCIA Announces Plans to Update the ExpressCard Standard
• Previous Press Releases
• Press Contact

PCMCIA Announces Plans to Update the ExpressCard Standard

ExpressCard Standard 2.0 Will Offer Improved Transfer Rates Based on New Releases of the PCI Express¨ and USB¨ Standards

Hannover, Germany, (March 5, 2008) -- PCMCIA, the leading technology trade association for PC Cardª and ExpressCard¨ technology, today announced that the ExpressCard Standard, currently at Release 1.2, is undergoing a significant update to accommodate the faster speeds increasingly demanded by today's high-performance mobile technologies.

ExpressCard technology (www.expresscard.org) is the next-generation PC Card technology for high-performance expansion of desktop and mobile systems. ExpressCard and PC Card slots can be found on more than 95 percent of notebook computers.

The announcement was made at CeBIT, where PCMCIA is exhibiting at Hall 13 D34. A press conference showing these products will be held on Thursday, March, 6, in Room 18 of the Convention Hall.

PCMCIA members showing products at CeBIT are:

• BrainBoxes launches its ExpressCard-to-serial range, an extension of its current PCMCIA-to-serial range;
• Village Tronic (Hall 13 D34) introduces the ViDock Gfx, a high performance graphics docking station that allows the connections of up to two additional external displays to an ExpressCard equipped notebook;
• WIBU-SYSTEMS' (Hall 6 K46) announces the CmCard/E , offering the latest in CodeMeter¨ Digital Rights Management (DRM) for access protection and license management for digital products.

The new ExpressCard Standard 2.0 will support transfer rates ranging from two to 10 times faster than ExpressCard Standard 1.2, depending on the data protocol used. The ExpressCard Standard 2.0 will enable manufacturers to develop higher performance ExpressCard products for consumers. Some of the applications that will benefit from this improved performance include:

• Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) 2.0 adapters supporting large file transfers between computers and various storage devices;
• Very high-performance streaming media and video adapters; and
• Very high-performance storage modules based on flash memory technologies, e.g. solid-state drive applications.

The ExpressCard Standard is based on the advanced serial I/O technologies, PCI Express¨ and USB. The Standard is being updated to comply with the recent release of the PCI Express specification, Version 2.0, which offers transfer rates of up to 5Gbps, two times faster than its previous version. The ExpressCard 2.0 Standard will also support the new SuperSpeed USB, which is planned for release later this year as part of the USB 3.0 specification. The new SuperSpeed USB standard will support speeds of up to 10 times faster than Hi-Speed USB.

"We are inviting all ExpressCard product developers to join in our activities as we formalize the requirements of the new standard," said Brad Saunders, chairman, PCMCIA. "We hope to build on the solid foundation set by the ExpressCard 1.0 Standard and encourage developers to provide feedback and comment for improvements. This is a terrific opportunity for notebook and module developers to take advantage of the ExpressCard 2.0 Standard to create new, innovative consumer products that leverage these significant performance improvements."

The ExpressCard 2.0 Standard will support backward compatibility with products compliant with any previous versions of the Standard. Any compliant ExpressCard product will work in any ExpressCard slot, regardless of which version of the Standard the product complies with. A new compliance program will be phased in once the ExpressCard 2.0 Standard is released. Current ExpressCard "plug Ôn' play" applications include memory, local area network (LAN), wireless broadband (WWAN), WiFi, memory adapters, parallel adapters, serial adapters, TV tuners, smart card readers, instrumentation, 1394A&B adapters, serial ATA (SATA) adapters and USB adapters.

Dell, Fujitsu Siemens, HP, Intel, Lenovo, Lexar Media, LG Electronics, Microsoft, Sony, Texas Instruments and Toshiba are among those supporting development of the ExpressCard standard.

About PCMCIA

PCMCIA is a non-profit trade association founded in 1989 to establish technical standards for PC Card technology and to promote interchangeability among computer systems. Already a feature in almost every notebook and palmtop computer, PC Card technology empowers users to configure systems and create unique, integrated solutions to meet their computing needs. Based in San Jose, California, the association has a growing membership of 150 companies worldwide. The PCMCIA also has a specification development and co-publishing relationship with the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) covering PC Card and Smart Media technologies.

# # #

[Top]

European Test House Testronic Laboratories Approved as First European ExpressCard® Test House (January 15, 2008)
Computex 2007 Online Press Kit
PCMCIA Shows Latest Wave of ExpressCard Products at CeBIT (March 15, 2007)
PCMCIA Launches 'ExpressCard University' (November 14, 2006)
MCCI is First US Test House to Offer ExpressCard Standard Compliance Testing (October 10, 2006)
Leading Notebook Developers Embrace ExpressCard Standard (September 26, 2006)
Largest Interoperability Event Ever Press Release (November 14, 2005)
Interoperability Event #5 Press Release (October 5, 2005)
CeBIT 2005 Online Press Kit
CeBIT 2005 Press Release (March 11, 2005)
Interoperability Event #2 Media Alert (November 29, 2004)
IDF Taiwan 2004 Press Release (October 25, 2004)
IDF 2004 Fall Press Release (September 7, 2004)
2004 Taiwan Seminar Press Release (May 18, 2004)
WinHEC 2004 Spring Press Release (May 4, 2004)
CeBIT 2004 Press Release #1 (March 19, 2004)
CeBIT 2004 Press Release #2 (March 19, 2004)
IDF 2004 Spring Press Release (February 17, 2004)
IDF 2003 Fall Press Release (September 16, 2003)
WinHEC 2003 Spring Press Release (May 6, 2003)
IDF 2003 Spring Press Release (February 9, 2003)

[Top]

Photos from Interoperability Event #1 in Taipei

	PCMCIA volunteers organized and ran the compliance testing in Taiwan in October 2004.
	PCMCIA members gather at a reception held the night before the first ExpressCard compliance workshop in Taiwan in October 2004.
	Ten companies participated in theÊfirst ExpressCard compliance workshop, held in Taiwan in October 2004. Seven host systems and 10 modules underwent testing.