Sony's Second Gen TransferJet Protocol Increases Speed, Lowers Power Draw

You've probably heard of Bluetooth. You may have even heard of Wi-Fi Direct. But have you heard of TransferJet? That's Sony's own short-range transfer protocol, and the company has been quietly pushing it into more and more products over in Japan for the past year or so. A few TransferJet cameras have emerged, as well as a few TransferJet USB docks/dongles.

The idea is simple. A TransferJet-enabled device can send short-range, high-speed communications to a TransferJet-enabled PC or a TransferJet adapter. But before Sony really puts a huge marketing effort behind the technology, they're introducing the CXD3270GG second generation transceiver chip. It's fully compatible with PCI Express and USB 2.0, while the first generation edition supported just PCI and SDIO. The newest module also requires fewer extra parts (namely a bridge chip and a general purpose microcontroller) to function.


The second gen hardware also demonstrates data transmission as high as 300Mbps, but higher speeds have been recorded under ideal circumstances. Sony has also managed to trim power consumption on the new chip, not to mention the cost of building it. Currently, plans are to mass produce the second generation chip at the end of this year, with each sample priced at around $22 for companies who wish to buy in bulk and integrate. We suspect Sony will use CES 2011 as a launching pad for next year's TransferJet lineup, but by that time Bluetooth 4.0 may already be well into the commercial stages. Looks like a short-rage war to us!