Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

Sony to launch first TransferJet devices this week

Sony hopes the short-range wireless system will replace cables for sending data between gadgets

Sony will launch the first laptop containing the new TransferJet short-range wireless system on Saturday. Sony hopes TransferJet will replace cables for shifting data between gadgets, but the technology's success will depend on its use in products from the big-name consumer electronics companies that have pledged to support it.

TransferJet, under development for more than two years, works over a distance of up to 3 centimeters. Its speed is supposed to rival USB2.0 and because of its short range its developers have opted not to implement the device pairing and security set-up functions of other wireless systems such as Bluetooth.

The first products to support it -- Sony's Vaio F laptop and TX7 and HX5V digital cameras -- will be launched in Japan on Jan. 23 and Feb. 5 respectively and will hit international markets from February. They were demonstrated on Monday at a Tokyo news conference.

To send pictures between cameras a user initiates sending on one camera, brings it close to the receiving camera and the rest happens automatically. During the demonstrations it worked well, accomplishing the transfer of pictures between cameras and from a camera to a photo frame and PC in just a few seconds. It appeared easy to use and required little work from the user.

But this first batch of products will suffer from a limitation common when a new technology debuts: they're not quite up to speed.

When it announced TransferJet in January 2008, Sony said it would run at 560Mbps and users would see actual transfer rates of up to 375Mbps after networking overheads. However, first-generation products will be much slower, with transfers from a Cybershot TX7 camera to a Vaio F laptop running at about 40Mbps, Sony said Monday.

The slower speed -- about one-tenth of the maximum possible -- is due to software overhead in the PC and data processing, the company said.

There'll be no TransferJet chip in the first Cybershot cameras to support the technology. Instead, the radio chip will come in an optional 8GB Memory Stick card so users will be required to purchase the card if they want to make use of the functions in the cameras' firmware.

The card will cost US$100, a $30 premium on a similar card without TransferJet.

Sony said it isn't fitting TransferJet as standard because of the fierce price competition in the digital camera market. Adding the chips would increase the price of its cameras, and with few users requiring the technology they would become less competitive.

Sony will also launch a TransferJet USB adapter. It demonstrated this on Monday, connected to a Bravia TV and digital photo frame receiving images from a camera. The TJS-1 adapter will cost US$150.

Whether TransferJet achieves its goal of replacing cables will depend in large part on how quickly it is added to other products.

A consortium formed to support and develop TransferJet counts many of the biggest names in consumer electronics as members, including Samsung, Toshiba, Kodak, Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Olympus, Pioneer and Sony Ericsson.

The list of companies leans towards camera and cell phone makers, hinting that these sectors could be the first to see greater adoption -- if manufacturers decide it's worth the additional cost.

To date, Toshiba has been the only other company to demonstrate prototype TransferJet devices. At last year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas it showed the transmission of pictures from a prototype PDA to a laptop and TV.

But at this year's show only Sony was demonstrating the technology despite its imminent commercial launch. If that proves to be an indication of the state of development at other companies then the technology could face a tough battle to achieve mass adoption.

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: Canon, Consumer Electronics, Ericsson, Kodak, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pioneer, Samsung, Sony, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: sony, transferjet, wireless
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Investment Protection and Elasticity for your Network
    Enterprise IT teams are being challenged to increase overall IT flexibility and business agility by incorporating emerging cloud technologies into their next generation datacentre architectures. Top of mind is how to embed a high degree of elasticity to properly handle increasingly unpredictable application traffic loads, while still meeting strict performance service level agreements (SLAs). Satisfying these often opposing goals requires that individual elements within the larger datacentre infrastructure provide a native capability to increase capacity and performance as conditions dictate. Read on.
    Learn more »
  • Learning To Compete: IT’s Next Transformation
    CIOs must become competitive players in managing relationships between IT and the business. Megatrends like virtualization, consumerisation, cloud computing, and mobility are forcing a new model for operating IT. This interactive white paper from CIO Magazine and EMC explores this transformation as a leadership opportunity, as an opportunity to create new models for IT, and as a catalyst to fundamentally change the dynamic between IT and the business. Embedded videos feature CIOs from T-Mobile USA and Wharton School of Business and a quick survey provides benchmarking between CIO peers.
    Learn more »
  • So Long, Silos: Why Multi-Domain MDM Is Better For Your Business
    Say “so long” to silos. This white paper explains why a multi-domain MDM solution is far better than single-domain, single-focused point solutions. You’ll learn what to look for in a multi-domain solution so you don’t outgrow it or are forced to purchase multiple products down the road. You’ll also get tips on how to select a multi-domain solution that can lead to multiple benefits over many years. The age of multi-domain MDM is here. See why you should say “hello” to it!
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments