Toshiba announces chip to boost TransferJet

(PhysOrg.com) -- Toshiba earlier this week announced a wireless chip that can help carry TransferJet forward to wider use. The newly developed chip, "TC35420," is designed to support the TransferJet near-field wireless transmission technology that has drawn interest over the past several years. Toshiba said that samples will start shipping at the end of January 2012 and mass production will begin around April to June of next year.

The chip is the smallest and highest sensitivity TransferJet chip, according to reports.

Toshiba's press announcement notes that the chip’s reduced size makes it ideal for lightweight devices such as phones.TransferJet is a potential enabler of truly mobile, ubiquitous computing. Technology proponents have hoped to see TransferJet at work on a wide range of mobile devices such as notebook PCs, tablets, smartphones, along with digital cameras. Just last year, a report noted that short-range, high-speed TransferJet wireless data technology is represented by a lot of well-known companies, but so far its impact in the market has been limited.

TransferJet provides high-speed data transfer with low power consumption simply by selecting on the screen of a mobile device the data file to be transferred and touching the receiving device with the mobile device.

TransferJet is described as a Close Proximity Wireless Transfer technology. Touching two devices together brings about the transfer of files. Benefits are said to be a short transmission distance which minimizes risks of data theft and high-speed transfer of large data files.

With such a device, it is possible to transfer data at a rate of 560Mbps maximum, but typically averaging 375Mbps. The TransferJet system can select the transmission rate depending on the wireless environment.

Scenarios of what a consumer digital marketplace might be like with TransferJet as part of a lot of mobile gadgets are instantly fetching photo printouts, swapping online data with a friend, and hearing and buying music, with a tap-touch of your mobile device. This would work with kiosks, digital boards, and digital signs.

The TransferJet Consortium was established in 2008 by companies wanting to grow an ecosystem of technology, products and services based on TransferJet wireless technology. The consortium focuses on specifications, compliance testing processes and tools, and promoting TransferJet. Along with Toshiba, companies in the group include Hitachi, Sony, Murata Manufacturing, and others.

The TransferJet Consortium will show its latest developments in TransferJet technologies at CEATEC JAPAN 2011, from October 4 to 8. The group hopes to show applications such as sending photos to printers, and future concepts, such as downloading content from kiosks to smartphones and making use of book stores’ cyber shelves handling electronic versions of books for purchase.

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