Barbie MP3s, Earth simulators

I'm back! So sorry I have not blogged since January. I've been busy and just did not feel like it. Even though I have not been blogging, I continually keep an eye on tech trends. There is always new technology being launched or created.

I read a few days ago that Mattel is launching Barbie MP3 Players that takes the shape of a doll. I loved playing with Barbie dolls when I was a kid (like every other little girl haha). Anyway, this 512MB MP3 player does not just play music, the device is integrated with the "Barbie virtual world" at BarbieGirls.com by connecting the USB to the computer. The virtual world allows girls to dress up their Barbie avatar, decorate their room, go to town and visit the boutique to buy clothes, adopt a pet at the pet store, etc. I tried playing but I could not buy anything because the MP3 Player is a requirement. A player can earn money by playing games at the website. The games are simple to play, appealing to girls aged 5 - 10. The Barbie MP3 Players are set to launch in July 2007 for US$60. I think it's great that Barbie is entering the Internet market. I liked playing computer games when I was young, and I remember thinking why there were no games for girls. So I played with what was available, which were cool games even though they were for boys.

Another interesting article is about Japanese scientists creating an "earth simulator". With the use of special goggles, scientists can simulate weather phenomenons through 3D images that appear.

Here's an excerpt of the article:

Wearing special glasses with sensors, scientists step into a small cube-like room in Yokohama, near Tokyo. The computer projects data through 3D images that appear across the room.

If the researchers punch in figures for a powerful typhoon, they can watch images of clouds swirling around them.

"Earth simulators up until now used to only produce and stock digital data but we couldn't fully understand natural phenomena just by looking at numbers," Sato said.

"The computer processes the data and the system transforms it to appeal to the human senses such as vision."

Simply amazing. :D

Smart Money, an RFID card?

Last Sunday, I saw a center-fold ad of Smart Money in the Inquirer. It says that you can "just tap to shop" using your Smart Money card, and that it will take less than a second to purchase items. This is very interesting, as this can compete against Globe's G-Pass. The ad also says that you can only "tap" for items that cost less than PHP 500; items that cost more than this must be swiped.

The ad does not include what stores/establishments this service is currently available. And how will this work for the current Smart Money users? Will their current non-RFID cards be replaced with the new ones?

I think this is a very convenient product to use if they partner with establishments where people want to pay fast. For example, the parking lots. It sucks to look for cash and being stuck in traffic in the mall parking lots. If people can just tap their Smart Money card on a reader at the parking lot exit, it would be very convenient, and it lessens traffic and time spent in the parking lot. Convenience stores is another example.

There should be more places to reload the Smart Money card.

I have not yet visited a Smart Wireless Center to inquire about this service, I will soon when I go to the mall. Perhaps it's about time I register for a Smart Money card. I keep forgetting to do this.

My second GPass experience was not like the 1st time

I had no ride going home last Friday so I had to ride the MRT from Ayala to Shaw station last Friday, November 24 at around 7pm (yes, rush hour!). I do not normally ride the MRT, so I don't own a stored value card, but I still have my GPass that I bought from last August. I was not sure if it still worked, so I went to the GPass booth and asked if there was still balance in my chip. There was still around PHP 50 in my GPass, and I asked to load PHP 20 more just to make sure the chip still works.

So as I was placing the GPass chip on the reader, it would not read the chip. Even though I placed it near the reader, it still would not read. There were so many impatient people behind me, especially this girl behind me. I have not gone through yet, and she placed her card through the turnstile. Of course, I was blocking her way, so she could not get through. I couldn't go back because there were so many people behind her, so the only direction I could go was forward, and I went through the turnstile knowing I was using her card to get through. I was thinking I could just use my GPass for her to get through.

At this point, I was still trying my GPass to work on the reader for the girl behind me to get through. The guards there saw my situation and we told them what has happened. They said they can help the girl with her card, but they can't help me with my GPass problem because it's new technology and they know nothing about it, and asked me to walk back to the GPass booth to get help. At the GPass booth, the guy said that I had to take out the chip out of its plastic casing. Stupid casing!

Even though the chip was out of its plastic casing, the reader won't "read" the chip until the chip touched the reader. Talk about contactless technology...

I'm glad that I was not alone going through that ordeal because I was with Jorrell, my officemate! Thanks Jorrell for being with me there, I would have panicked alone there.

The MRT should improve the GPass technology. When I first used the GPass, the reader immediately read my chip. How come it won't work as well as when it was new? My GPass chip was just lying on my office table for months, so it could not have gotten damaged by anything.

I suggest placing a separate turnstile lane for GPass users so they don't have to line up with the stored value card users. During rush hour, lining up takes around 15 - 20 minutes. The train ride is faster I think..

It was fun walking with my officemates last Friday. I'm glad that I have friends with me in case I ride the MRT again. I don't know if I'll use the GPass next time though...

Yehey! launches Kaban

Kaban Internet Payment Solutions, launched by Yehey!, is an e-commerce solution to online merchants. Kaban is the newly revamped service of Yehey!'s former payment facility called PayPlus+. Kaban merchants are able to receive three types of payments:

1) ATM Card via Bancnet
2) Credit Card (VISA, Mastercard, JCB)
3) Electronic Cash via Globe G-Cash

Kaban works similarly to PayEasy because it offers merchants services to the Philippine market and it revolves around the concept of a load wallet. I guess the Kaban website is still not ready because some of their links don't work yet, such as the merchant tools and the buyers section.

I wonder why they had to change the name from PayPlus+ to Kaban. Maybe PayPlus+ has some pending issues. Personally, I like the PayPlus+ name better.

Kaban's transaction fee is quite high at 6%. Or is this normal?

The Nokia 5300 XpressMusic beats the iPod Nano

Nokia has released a new phone that I find interesting, the Nokia 5300 XpressMusic. It can hold 1,500 songs on a 2G microSD card. It comes with a 1.3-megapixel camera, that's clear! (Well, it's a lot clearer than my current camera phone, haha!) There are dedicated music keys on the side of the phone, which is part of the phone's unique design and charm. The phone comes in two colors - black and red.

Why am I so fascinated with this phone? Because my cousin bought one and I instantly fell in love with this phone when she started to play mp3 songs in loud speaker. The sound really has superior sound quality, as the nokia website says. My cousin is also able to hook up her Nokia 5300 to her car. This beats the Nano!

This phone is also price friendly. You can get one for PHP 12,500. This is the same price range as the iPod Nano...

I am considering buying this phone. My old Samsung E-600 is frustrating at times. For some weird reason, it can't even do basic phone services such as caller ID unless I save a person's number twice. I love Samsung, it's cute and easier for me to use than Nokia phones, but this phone unit I have is not working well. Time to replace? hmm...