A type of peripheral device that plugs into a USB port. Defined by the USB Implementers Forum, device classes provide the specifications for a standard set of drivers for common peripherals. If a peripheral does not conform to one of the standard classes, it must include its own device driver for the operating system. Following are the standard classes. See USB.
Device Class Typical Use Audio Sound cards Communications Modem, network Human Interface Keyboard, mouse Still Image Capture Still camera (see PTP) Printer Printer Mass Storage Drive with file system Hub USB hub Video Camera Wireless Bluetooth
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- My First Week With DROID
- The DroidI am curious-do you feel an application is coming along that will allow you to do to email what the Blackberry is already doing? Perhaps a software upgrade by Google? Having the ability to pull all your email accounts into one app is much better than what...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-15
- Samsung Mythic SGH-A897 (AT&T)
- Even though AT&T launched its live mobile TV service more than a year ago, but few support it-- the last one we saw was the Samsung Eternity, which was released in October 2008. Now it seems that AT&T may be looking to breathe fresh life to the service by releasing...
- Product reviews 2009-11-14
- Samsung Behold II (T-Mobile)
- Photo gallery:Samsung Behold IIFirst announced at CTIA Fall 2009, the Samsung Behold II is Samsung's second Android device for the U.S. market the Samsung Moment being the first and T-Mobile's fourth Android offering. Based on the Samsung Galaxy Lite, the Behold II tries to set itself apart from the crowd...
- Product reviews 2009-11-13
- Palm Pixi (Sprint)
- The debut of the Palm Pre got the tech world and gadget enthusiasts excited about Palm once again. Long considered dead in the water, Palm's innovative WebOS operating system buoyed it back into the spotlight, and the Pre was certainly a boon for the company as well as Sprint. While...
- Product reviews 2009-11-12
- USB Lock RP 5.21 (Windows)
- USB LOCK RP network information protector and centralized endpoint control to protect information in network PCs. Block, or allow removable storage use by class in real-time. Authorize Groups of devices by VID, PID,and/or specific devices by hardware ID to operate on specific clients or across the network. Automatically receive alerts,...
- Software downloads 2009-11-11
- Cloud Engines Pogoplug
- Photo gallery:Cloud Engines PogoplugWouldn't it be nice to quickly access your data from anywhere without a complicated network setup? That's exactly what the Cloud Engines Pogoplug offers. Priced at $100, this tiny gadget turns any USB external storage devices--anything from a Seagate FreeAgent Go to a Western...
- Product reviews 2009-11-10
- Magellan RoadMate 1470
- Design The RoadMate 1470 doesn't deviate from the tried and true portable navigation device form factor. Measuring 3.3 inches by 5.2 inches by 7 inches, the RoadMate's thinness easily makes this unit one of the most pocketable devices in its class. Like nearly all PNDs, the majority of the RoadMate's...
- Product reviews 2009-11-10
- Amazon Kindle Wireless Reading Device (U.S. & International Wireless, Latest Generation)
- On October 22, 2009, Amazon discontinued the U.S.-only version of the Kindle and replaced it with the international Kindle model and set the price at $259. This new model--now called the "U.S. and International Kindle"--runs on AT&T's network and can access content on cellular networks inside and outside of the...
- Product reviews 2009-11-07
- WD TV Live HD Media Player
- The first few rounds of network media streamers we tested weren't necessarily recommendable. Sure, this was partially because most of these devices depend on Windows Media Center for connectivity and content, but we also had issues with their interfaces and performance.Fast forward a year and it's safe to say that...
- Product reviews 2009-11-07
- HTC Droid Eris (Verizon Wireless)
- Editors' note: Portions of this review were taken from our review of the HTC Hero. The two devices share similar features. The HTC Droid Eris is the second Verizon Wireless' Google Android phone after the Motorola Droid. Where the Droid was flashy and high-end, the Droid Eris offers a simpler,...
- Product reviews 2009-11-06
- RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 (T-Mobile)
- Photo gallery:RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700It's been about a year since the original RIM BlackBerry Bold made its debut, and while it remains a very solid device, it's about time that a flashier, faster model took over the reigns. And that device would be the RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700. Not only...
- Product reviews 2009-11-05
- IronKey reveals new, ultra-secure D200 USB flash drives
- Another bad designIf I can lose the cap and damage the connector, it's not secure. Why would anybody make a flash drive with a separate cap any more? I'll continue to wait for a secure drive with a good physical design that operates reliably with NO software installation on host...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-04
- Nyko Charge Base IC (Wii)
- After a seemingly endless tirade of Nintendo Wii charging accessories, not until now have we seen third-party manufacturers enter the world of induction charging. We've already got our hands on the Energizer 2X Induction Charge Station and we really enjoyed the convenience of not having to detach batteries and Wii...
- Product reviews 2009-10-29
- Kodak 5250
- The ESP 5250 is Kodak's latest upgrade to last year's ESP 5 all-in-one AIO, which should be obvious from the almost identical design. Aside from looks, the printer does make improvements to print quality and most notably, output speed, but the printer still isn't perfect--it's missing an auto-document feeder and...
- Product reviews 2009-10-29
- Apple releases iTunes 9.0.2, kills Palm Pre sync ... again
- Round up the executive and throw them in jailApple's behavior is simply unacceptable.Palm... Shakes HeadNote to Palm: Make a Front end that uses the iTunes DB or quit trying to keep hacking. It is REALLY stupid. A) You will never keep ahead of this.B) Even if you keep fixing it,...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-29
- Samsung Intrepid (Sprint)
- The Samsung Intrepid made its debut at CTIA Fall 2009 as Sprint's first Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone. Admittedly, we weren't particularly impressed by the handset's drab and slightly plasticky design when we saw it at the show but now that we've had some time to get to know the device,...
- Product reviews 2009-10-22
- Samsung Moment (Sprint)
- In case you haven't noticed, the Google Android dam has broken. For almost a year HTC was the only manufacturer to offer handsets with the operating system, but in the past month, Motorola and Samsung almost fell over each other to offer Android smartphones of their own. Moto gave us...
- Product reviews 2009-10-22
- Tritton AX900
- Among all the video game accessories available today, no other market seems to be expanding as rapidly as the video game headset. With most current-generation consoles able to produce 5.1 surround sound, finding a headset solution to handle such a request is now much easier than before. We've tested a...
- Product reviews 2009-10-22
- Apple MacBook Fall 2009 (Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, Nvidia GeForce 9400M)
- While it's neither the less-expensive entry-level MacBook some had hoped for, nor the long-rumored touch-screen device, the new 13-inch MacBook can now escape its designation as the lone holdover system from Apple's previous generation, thanks to an upscale makeover that keeps the price stable at just under the $1,000 mark....
- Product reviews 2009-10-22
- HTC Tilt 2 (AT&T)
- Editors' note: Portions of the Features section were taken from our review of the HTC Pure since the two smartphones share a number of same features.After waiting in the wings, AT&T's business customers are finally getting their turn with the HTC Touch Pro2. Dubbed the HTC Tilt 2 (and obviously...
- Product reviews 2009-10-20
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