Toshiba strategy could undermine Eye-Fi

Toshiba on Tuesday kickstarted a forum to produce an official standard for wireless flash memory cards. The group's format, developed with help from Trek 2000, would give all SD cards built-in Wi-Fi and let them upload or download photos without having to use a card reader. It would expand on the concept pioneered by Eye-Fi and would allow camera-to-camera sharing along with more direct control over how photos are sent, improving on the power use compared to the "current solution."

The example SDHC card designed by Toshiba wouldn't exceed current cards in performance. It would hold 8GB of data, share info over 802.11g Wi-Fi, and transfer photos either in JPEG or RAW. Some newer Eye-Fi cards use 802.11n.

A finished version of the card doesn't have a timeframe, but Toshiba and Trek 2000 are hoping to recruit other companies and make the wireless card a common format.

By Electronista Staff