Adventures in Ultra Wide Band with Leyio
Want a device that can store oodles of info which you can share with others at ultra fast speeds simply by shaking it?
You want a Leyio.
It uses Ultra Wide Band technology to wirelessly transfer data giving a throughput of 10MBps. That’s fast. 3MB of data in 0.3 seconds. Appealing.
The Leyio is small. I measured mine at 73mm tall, 50mm wide and 22mm thick. It has a nice rubbery finish and curved sides. There is a 1.5-inch screen on the front which can be used to look at photos, and a single control pad. This pad incorporates a fingerprint sensor. You need to use a finger to get into the devices content, and also pan over and tap onto this area to navigate the device.
The Leyio connects to a PC via USB which allows you to charge it and transfer files into its 16GB of memory. But its real purpose is sharing.
To do this you need to pair two Leyios (or should that be Leyi?) You just put two devices near each other then press their on/off buttons and pairing is done automatically. Then you use the fingerprint scanner to move vertically through the file structure, tapping lightly to open folders and tapping again to choose what you want to transfer. Then you give a small shake - think shaking a salt cellar. The sending Leyio gives a little shudder and across go the files.
Alternatively you can connect a USB drive and transfer files between the two. And, if you don’t have a USB drive, you can use what is called the ‘satellite’ a small USB device integrated into the Leyio’s body. Copy a file to that, then pop it into a USB port. When you return it to the Leyio its content is automatically deleted making it ready for the next use. You can also use the ‘satellite’ to copy files from computer to Leyio.
It is all really easy to use, and trust me when I say that Ultra Wide Band is fast, fast, fast.
But there is a problem. To make the most of the Leyio you’ll need to find a friend with one. And that could be tricky. Two were sent to me for testing purposes, and I happily shook them at each other to swap files. But in the real world the Leyio costs £159. For 16GB of storage that’s hefty, and as the only UWB device available, a Leyio has nothing to talk to but its own doppelganger.
I reckon if these were sold in packs of two for £100 then there might be a market. A bit like walkie-talkies you need to sell to a group that'll use them rather than selling them singly.
As things are, Leyio is a remarkable bit of technology, but I’m not sure it has anywhere to go.
More info at www.leyio.com