New Wireless Standard, TransferJet, Gets Big Name Backing at CES

Watch out Bluetooth, here comes TransferJet.

TransferJet wireless capability is getting closer to reality. The technology, which is being developed by major camera makers Sony, Olympus, Canon, Kodak, Nikon, is intended to make it easier for to transfer your images between devices wirelessly. Now Toshiba is getting behind the wireless standard showing off a laptop here at CES that uses the technology.

Companies pushing the technology tout TransferJet as over 100 times faster than Bluetooth and say transferring data between devices needs no pass codes or pairing (as Bluetooth requires). The companies have created a consortium and have launched a Website where you can read more about the technology and what other tech firms support the standard.

The two devices must have the appropriate chip embedded inside. Toshiba’s demonstration included a laptop with the technology embedded in its palm rest, and embedded into a mobile internet device from Toshiba Japan. Take the camera, rest it on the palm rest, and it will automatically sync your files over to your laptop’s hard disk drive. The device needs to be within 2mm of the transfer area.

The technology can achieve 357Mbps throughput–good enough for moving images around, or for streaming video directly from a camcorder, for example.

There’s intelligence in the software to transfer files over and display on the screen immediately. Toshiba says it expects some impact on battery life, but not a big impact.

Toshiba also showed a prototype for an external USB dock with TransferJet embedded inside. The company plans to embed the technology into laptops and external devices in the fourth quarter.