As Intel is set to release the development kits for its Thunderbolt technology, which allows a transmission speed up to 10Gbps with a stand electrical or optical cable, in the third quarter of 2011, sources from PC players believe the technology may greatly affect USB 3.0 application in the future.

Although Intel has emphasized that the two technologies will co-exist, and said will still have its next-generation chipset to support USB 3.0 natively, sources believe Intel's strategy of adopting both technologies into its next generation products is to minimize the risks of placing all the eggs into one basket.

Thunderbolt has already been adopted by Apple's MacBook Pro notebooks, while Sony is also considering adopting the technology into its high-end notebooks.

The sources pointed out that the USB 3.0 technology currently seems like it will become a transitional product with Thunderbolt to become the finalized next-generation transmission technology.

Intel Thunderbolt technology
Photo: Monica Chen, Digitimes file photo