cnet: According to displays at CES, the new USB 3.0 is up to twice as fast as USB 2.0, and it uses about a third less power. Plus, it's backwards compatible with devices built to the older standards.
At the show, both HP and Asus were showing off laptops that use the new USB standard. And others offer cards that plug into an ExpressCard slot to allow existing laptops to use the new technology.