SCEJ announces the PS3 firmware version 1.50 today adding an electronic money payment system, so you don’t always need a credit card to buy games online anymore. First, pick up the electronic money PaSoRi reader/writerfor your PS3, connect it via the USB port on the console, update the firmware to version 1.50, then you are all set to add money to your Network Wallet and buy games on Playstation Network with your Felica phone or Edy money card. Felica phones are phones with built-in a contactless electronic money chip, these phones are able to show on the screen the balance on your money chip, record of latest transactions, the stations you passed by, your flight boarding pass, movie tickets, Tokyo Disneyland queue reserve ticket and purchase coupons.

The Edy card only does the e-money storing but it’s a separate “touch-and-go” card like the Oyster Card in the UK or the Octopus in Hong Kong, but those started out as stored value tickets for trains. Apart from the new electronic money support, firmware version 1.50 also improves the AOSS W-LAN security with the choice of 128bit WEP, WPA-PSK(TKIP/AES) protocols. Minor updates such as the ability to save log-in password for PS Network login and the support for Korean Hangul keyboard are also introduced. The firmware 1.50 will be available on Jan24 and it is for PS3 in Japan only, there is no word on upcoming updates for the American consoles as we are writing. — Sam Chan

Press Release [SCEJ]

It is really hard to imagine for people who have never heard of Near Field Communication systems (NFC), it’s basically what large companies use for security purposes, it’s a card-sized or card-thinned contactless device that can exchange data with a system via a reader (antenna). A lot of countries have started using some form of contactless payment system, the Oyster in the UK, the FeliCa/Edy in Japan, the Octopus in Hong Kong and so on. So far they have had excellent history of security, but it’s only a matter of time before hackers devise something that can steal money from you by simply touching your wallet; or what people are more concerned about would be legit readers being used by people abusing the system to steal biometric information from your NFC cards, when more and more information is being carried- your air-ticket, driver’s license, fingerprints and home address. Elecom has started selling a range of Skim Black Shield products that physically blocks the access of your NFC cards when needed. They can slid into your wallet together with the rest of your cards, or it be attached to your NFC built-in cellphones (Osaifu keitai). You can pick these up at electric appliances shops in Japan for $10 to $20 depending on model. — Sam Chan

Skim Black [Elecom]