USB 2.0 became the standard for other stuff, that isn’t dependent on internet connection. Does it matter if you can stream video from your web cam to computer at 400+mb/s if your internet doesn’t move that fast? No. It does not. External hdds, flash drives, etc… that’s the stuff that really benefits from 2.0
Be careful with Philips webcams, they aren’t known for their driver support. I own one and finding working vista drivers on their site is an archaic mess.
If I did get these could I use the mic on the headphones and somehow stop the mic on the webcam? Maybe duct tape the thing over. I need 4 inexpensive webcams for family to eyeball each other once in a while.
The USB specifications are pretty complicated. As you increase in features, the degree of complexity and cost increases. Its similar to asking why people have chip programmers running off of serial or parrallel ports on a computer. Basic answer is, it is easier and cheaper. Same idea with a gamepad that ran on a gameport instead of USB. Mind you, its completely possible to design a device that complies with the USB specifications version 2.0 and not run at hi-speed. It just means that the device has to be within those specifications to run at hi-speed. Hoot?, your USB2.0 device could be running pleasantly at 1.5Mbits/s and not care. Finally, the amount of bandwidth you’ll be using from the camera is insignificant compared to 1.5Mbits/s. For the vast majority of people, and using the term very lousely, the internet upload speed will be the limiter, not the USB 1.0 specifications.