Archive notice: This article was originally published on January 19, 2010. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Electronics group Sony has announced new models in its Vaio F notebook series and the Cybershot TX7 and HX5V digital cameras in Japan. These devices use the Wireless USB competitor “TransferJet” for the first time, promising short-range transmissions at gross data rates of up to 560 megabits per second (Mbps).
With the current devices, the technology announced at the beginning of 2008 is therefore facing its first practical consumer test. The system promises users the ability to transfer data and content conveniently between devices without cables.
Image transfer by holding devices together
One example of a TransferJet application is transferring images from a digital camera to a computer or television. Although there are not yet any TV devices equipped with TransferJet from the outset, Sony is launching the TSJ-1 USB adapter in Japan on February 5 at the same time as the TX7. If the camera is placed next to or on this device, the adapter receives data transmitted via TransferJet. This can then be displayed on a connected television, digital photo frame or other devices.
The actual transmission chip is not directly built into the first TransferJet-capable cameras either. Instead, Sony is relying on offering the MS-JX8G memory card, which then enables data transfer. This also allows photos to be transferred to the Vaio F notebooks due to be released on January 23, since a TransferJet chip is built directly into them.
Device availability as a success factor
Whether TransferJet can establish itself on the market will depend, among other things, on how long it takes before the technology is supported by a larger number of devices. Although it remains unclear when Sony itself will introduce the technology outside Japan, in the long term the group can hope for help from other manufacturers, since the TransferJet Consortium was founded in summer 2008. Its members include a number of major industry players such as Nikon, Samsung, Sharp and Toshiba.
It remains to be seen when TransferJet can fully deliver on its speed promises. After deducting protocol overhead and error correction, an effective transfer rate of 375 Mbps is said to be possible. The first products now presented by Sony initially achieve only 40 Mbps.
