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ExpressCard

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ExpressCard
Year created2003
SupersedesPC Card
No. of devices1 per slot
Speed480 Mbit/s (USB mode) and
2.5 Gbit/s (PCI Express mode)
StyleSerial
Hotplugging interfaceYes
External interfaceYes

The ExpressCard is an interface to allow peripheral devices to be connected to a computer. The ExpressCard standard is implemented as one or more slots built into, usually, a portable computer, and cards to be inserted into a slot and containing electronic circuitry and connectors to which external devices can be connected. The ExpressCard standard replaces the PC card (also known as PCMCIA or CardBus) standards.

Applications

ExpressCard plug-in hardware available includes mobile broadband cards, FireWire 800 (1394B), Serial ATA external disk drives, solid-state drives, wireless network interface cards, TV tuner cards, common access card (CAC) readers, and soundcards. Media remote control units are available that use the ExpressCard slot to store and recharge.[1]

Standards

The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) developed both the ExpressCard standard and the PCCard standards. The host device supports both PCI Express and USB 2.0[2] connectivity through the ExpressCard slot; cards can be designed to use either mode. The cards are hot-pluggable. This is an open standard by ITU-T definition which can be obtained from the ExpressCard website. The documentation is free to members of PCMCIA, and US$2,500 [3] to non-members as of 2009. ExpressCard was formerly called NEWCARD.[4]

Form factors

ExpressCards compared to the predecessor PC Card
ExpressCards compared to the predecessor PC Card

The ExpressCard standard specifies two form factors, ExpressCard/34 (34mm wide) and ExpressCard/54 (54mm wide, in an L-shape)—the connector is the same on both (34 mm wide). Standard cards are 75 mm long (10.6 mm shorter than CardBus) and 5 mm thick, but may be thicker on sections that extend outside the standard form for antennas, sockets, etc.

The 34mm slot accepts only 34mm cards. The 54mm slot accepts both 34mm and 54mm cards. A diagonal guide in the rear of the 54mm slot guides 34mm cards to the connector. Adapters are available for connecting an ExpressCard/34 card to a CardBus (but not 16-bit PC Card) slot.

Comparison to Other Standards

The older PC Cards came in 16-bit and the later 32-bit CardBus designs.

The major benefit of the ExpressCard over the PCMCIA CardBus PC card is more bandwidth, due to the ExpressCard's direct connection to the system bus over a PCI Express x1 lane and USB 2.0, while CardBus cards only interface with PCI. The ExpressCard has a maximum throughput of 2.5 Gbit/s through PCI Express and 480 Mbit/s through USB 2.0 dedicated for each slot, while all CardBus devices connected to a computer share a total 1.06 Gbit/s bandwidth.

Cardbus to ExpressCard Adapter

The ExpressCard standard specifies voltages of either 1.5V or 3.3V; CardBus slots can use 3.3V or 5.0V.

The ExpressCard FAQ claims lower cost, better scalability, and better integration with motherboard chipset technology than Cardbus. PCMCIA devices can be connected to an ExpressCard slot via an adapter.

When the PC Card was introduced the only other way to connect peripherals to a laptop computer was via obsolescent RS232 and parallel ports of limited performance, so it was widely adopted for many peripherals. More recently, virtually all laptop equipment has 480Mbit/s Hi-Speed USB 2.0 ports, and most types of peripheral which formerly used a PC Card connection are available for USB, making the ExpressCard less necessary than the PC Card was in its day. Some portable computers do not have an ExpressCard slot. For example, as of the second half of 2009 the only Apple laptop computer with an ExpressCard slot is the 17" MacBook Pro.

Availability

A mobile broadband modem integrated into ExpressCard 34

An ExpressCard slot has been commonly included on high-end laptops made since 2006.

  • Hewlett-Packard began shipping systems with ExpressCard in November 2004.[5]
  • Lenovo integrated the slot into their flagship ThinkPad T43 in May 2005.[6]
  • Dell Computer also incorporates this in their Precision (the 17" models have them exclusively, the 15" Precisions have both express card and PCMCIA Card slots), Inspiron, Latitude (Latitude D-series have PCMCIA card slots. The D820/D830 have both ExpressCard and PCMCIA card slots), Studio, Vostro and XPS Laptop product lines.
  • Fujitsu-Siemens began shipping systems[7] with ExpressCard in mid 2005.
  • Apple Inc. included single ExpressCard/34 slots in every MacBook Pro notebook computer from January 2006 through June 2009. At the June 8, 2009 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference the company announced that the 15-inch and 13-inch MacBook Pro models would replace the ExpressCard slot with a Secure Digital card slot, while retaining the ExpressCard slot on the 17-inch model.
  • ASUS has also replaced the PC Card slot with an ExpressCard slot on many of its new models.
  • Sony also began shipping systems[8] with ExpressCard with its new laptop VGN-SZ, VGN-NS and FW product line.
  • The Acer Aspire laptop series also has a single ExpressCard/54 slot on most new models.
  • Panasonic incorporates ExpressCard/54 slots in all the fully rugged and semi-rugged models of their Toughbook brand of portable computers.
  • Gateway notebooks (ML3109 and later) also ship with ExpressCard/54 interfaces.

Because of the lack of backward compatibility, some laptop manufacturers have chosen to release models incorporating both CardBus (PCMCIA, PC Card) and ExpressCard slots. These include certain models of Acer Aspire, Toshiba Satellite, Dell Latitude and Precision, MSI S42x and Lenovo ThinkPad Z60m, R52, T60 and R61.

A large number of ExpressCard devices were presented at the CeBit trade show in Germany in March 2005.[9] In November 2006, Belkin announced that it is launching the first ExpressCard docking station, which uses the PCIe part of an ExpressCard connection to enable 1600x1200 video and the USB part to provide USB, audio and network ports.[10][11] This points to the ability for ExpressCard to allow more capable non-OEM docking stations for laptop computers.

Recently[when?] Sony has introduced its Vaio TZ model, which incorporates ExpressCards. Also the Sony Vaio FZ and Vaio Z series has the ExpressCard/34 Slot integrated in them. Sony also uses the ExpressCard/34 form factor for the flash memory modules in its XDCAM EX/SxS based camcorders, making the copying of video data between these cameras and ExpressCard-equipped laptops easier. For this reason, Sony also offers a USB-based SxS reader for desktop computers.

The new Toshiba Satellite P and X 200/205 series of laptops and desktop replacements have an ExpressCard/34 slot since April 2007.

ExpressCard 2.0

ExpressCard 2.0 Standard was delivered March 4, 2009 at CeBIT in Hannover. It is expected to have a raw bandwidth of 5 Gbit/s (transfer speed 500 MB/s)[12], which is ten times USB 2.0 (0.48 Gbit/s or 60 MB/s)[13], includes USB 3.0 (5.0 Gbit/s or 625 MByte/s)[14] .[15] It complies with PCI-Express 2.0 and SuperSpeed USB, which is part of the USB 3.0 specification. It is backwards compatible with current ExpressCard modules and 2.0 ExpressCard modules will work in current slots. ExpressCard 2.0 products are expected to be in the market in 2010.[16]

References

  1. ^ http://shopper.cnet.com/remote-controls/hp-mobile-remote-control/4027-7900_9-31860035.html
  2. ^ http://www.expresscard.org/web/site/cons_about.jsp
  3. ^ PCMCIA (association) order form
  4. ^ "NEWCARD Reborn As 'ExpressCard'". Retrieved 2009-02-25.
  5. ^ http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1706542,00.asp
  6. ^ http://www-131.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=-840&storeId=10000001&langId=-1&dualCurrId=1000073&categoryId=2072541
  7. ^ http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/home/products/notebooks/amilo_m_3438_4438.html
  8. ^ http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_BrowseCatalog-Start?CategoryName=cpu_VAIONotebookComputers_SZSeries&Dept=computers
  9. ^ http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNCID=46&CIaNID=18253
  10. ^ http://www.belkin.com/pressroom/releases/uploads/10_10_06NotebookExpansionDock.html
  11. ^ http://www.belkin.com/highspeeddock/
  12. ^ "PCI Express 3.0 Frequently Asked Questions". PCI-SIG. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  13. ^ Universal Serial Bus 3.0 Specification, 4.4.11 "Efficiency"
  14. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_device_bandwidths
  15. ^ ExpressCard 2.0 FAQ (pdf) at ExpreesCard.org, accessed 2009-12-04.
  16. ^ ExpressCard 2.0
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