Are We Going to Kiss our Cables Goodbye?

Keyssa recently announced a new wireless technology:  Kiss Connectivity.  Kiss is a point-to-point technology (as in one centimeter apart) that enables devices to transfer or stream data at 6Gb/sec, which is faster than USB 3.0 5Gb/sec speed.  Keyssa promises the transfer of entire movies in seconds.  Picture NFC on some serious steroids and you’ve got it.  The table below shows where Kiss sits on the speed spectrum compared to some other popular connectivity technologies.

Some big names in the electronics industries are behind this company.  The Chairman of the Board of Keyssa is Nest’s CEO Tony Fadell.  Keyssa is backed by Intel and Samsung, among other companies. 

If Kiss takes off, it will squash TransferJet’s chances of making much of a splash in the market; it has been struggling to make headway already.  Depending on how much it costs, and the security level it brings, it may make a dent in NFC’s market as well, but NFC is really suited for enabling things like smart cards, tickets, and hotel keys where small bits of data is being transferred, so the overlap there is not as great.  Pricing has not been announced yet for Kiss.

Kiss has a catchy name, and Keyssa wants to create demand by appealing to consumers with the promise of getting rid of connectors and cables. Combined with wireless charging and Bluetooth headphones, there will be little reason to have open ports on tablets and phones, although there will still be sim card and flash card slots, as well as speakers and microphones.  The catchy name and the promise of no cables are certainly appealing, but are people really going to be rushing to download movies from kiosks? 

Semico Spin:

Keyssa’s Kiss Connectivity has a lot of promise.  Eliminating cables and associated port s will reduce costs and enable slimmer designs.  I think it could be very useful in consumer applications where you want to stream content from your phone or tablet to your TV, or you could sync your mobile devices to your computer without cables.  I definitely think cable fatigue (as in, being sick of fooling with cables) is prevalent, but I don’t think the usage for this technology will be quite as widespread as Keyssa seems to think.  Kiss-enabled products are expected to launch in 1H15, so time will tell.  Very little has been said about security with Kiss, so I will have to reserve judgement on that until we get more details.

Semico's upcoming NFC report will include coverage of Keyssa as well as Bluetooth Low Energy and TransferJet.  Contact Rick Vogelei at rickv@semico.com for details.