Which version of USB is right for your application? (Part 1)

The Universal Serial Bus (USB) peripheral interface has become ubiquitous across all personal computing platforms as well as many industrial and infrastructure platforms. However, at the same time, the version of the specification that is right for a given application—USB 1.0, USB 1.1, USB 2.0, On-the-Go (OTG), WirelessUSB (WUSB)—can lead to confusion.

The release of the USB 1.1 specification, combined with the native operating system support offered by Microsoft, enabled the rapid adoption of USB hosts in the PC. It also drove the conversion of many peripheral devices from legacy interfaces such as serial (RS-232), PS-2 (mice and keyboards), and parallel ports (Centronix and IEEE-1284 for printers) to this common interface standard. With the release of the USB 2.0 specification enabling a higher speed connection, an even greater explosion in the number of USB peripherals available greatly enhanced the end-user experience. Parts I and 2 of this article will look at the evolution of the USB standard, and Part 3 and 4 will address common applications and determine which flavor of USB would be best for a given application.

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