Sony's TransferJet System Moves Photos Faster

Sony TransferJet Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX7 (Photos: 10 megapixels, Price: $400 (est.)); Sony Vaio F-Series (Screen: 16.4 inches, Price: Not set) Brian Klutch

Now that even cellphones can take the kind of photos you want to save, we end up with images scattered all over. So electronics makers are coming up with easier ways to move your snaps. Sony’s new wireless solution, TransferJet, is built into this TX7 camera and Vaio F-Series laptop. Come home after a trip, put the camera down, and your photos hop over before you hang up your coat.

When a TransferJet chip in the camera’s memory card comes within an inch of one in the keyboard tray, up to 20 photos hop over at a rate of a second apiece. (That’s more than 20 times the speed of Bluetooth and even closing in on wired rates.) The chips attain that pace by using a shorter-distance, lower-power version of speedy ultra-wideband radio and skipping time-consuming file compression. And unlike Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, there’s no need for passwords, since the close range ensures that hackers can’t steal pics from afar. Expect more TransferJet devices, like TVs and digital photo frames, from Sony and others over the next year.

[PopSci at CES]