USB 2.0 Hub Outfits Portables

Unveiled as the industry’s first USB 2.0 two-port hub controller for portable products, the USB2502 employs an architecture that uses just 36 pins, reportedly making it approximately one-third the size of similar devices. The controller consumes less than 200 mA when operating at 480 Mb/s and can be powered by the current available from its upstream USB cable. It supports both bus- and self-powered peripherals as downstream devices. Features include: hub configuration via I2C EEPROM, SMBus slave port, or the internal default setting with pin strapping; power management with ganged port power control; 24-MHz crystal-driver circuitry; and a PLL for 480-MHz USB 2.0 sampling. Additionally, the device integrates a 1.8V linear voltage regulator and pull-up and pull-down resistors. Price is $2.00 each/10,000. SMSC, Hauppauge, NY.