USB money.

How would you like to be able to pay for something you plan to purchase online just by sticking a small USB stick into the USB slot? In Korea you can do just that. Shinhan Bank in Korea together with Visa had developed a USB type card with embedded IC chip and build-in public authorisation and Internet credit payment programs which allows user to pay for online transactions just by slotting in the USB card and not requiring users to fill in card details.

The card also utilises a near-field communication (NFC) chip for in store payment.NFC is a short-range wireless connectivity technology commonly deployed in a chip and embedded in handsets such as mobile phones in other countries for contactless payment, just like Visa Wave that is available in Malaysia. Besides that, the USB card can also be utilised as a post-paid transportation payment system.

Shinhan USB Card
Image Source: http://english.etnews.co.kr/news/detail.html?id=200712280013

In my opinion, I think it's got an equal share of pros and cons. The advantage is that it'll save you time if you are in a rush whether for online or offline transactions. The post-paid transport payment is great especially when you don't have change or when your Touch-N-Go is out of credit. There is no credit card number that can be stolen just by the appearance of the USB card. All information in the card can be digitally encrypted and transaction security is the responsibility of the merchant.

The disadvantage is that it's still as easy to steal as a normal credit card. Due to it's size, there are chances that you'll misplace it, just like the many USB sticks from the university computer lab sitting in lost & found. It is not suitable to be carried in your wallet as it is definitely thicker than a normal sized credit card, so hanging with a lanyard is probably the other option. These are just a few sudden thoughts that I compiled. It might not be long before it hits our shores, but whether its just a fresh idea or another practical option for our payment,we'll have to try it to find out.

Android platform, free phone operating system?

Having just gotten my hands on a new Windows Mobile 6 phone and also loving how attractive Apple's new iPhone interface is , I searched the net to find out how I could integrate the interface of the iPhone into my WM6 phone. While searching for the applications, I came across what would be the very first open source operating system for mobile phones - the Google Android Platform . I finally found what I'd say is the best of both worlds all rolled into one :) the only thing is that it's going to be awhile longer before it's going to be launched. Here's a preview below :

GOOGLE ANDROID demo on Youtube

After going through the video and seeing what it can offer, I'd say it's definitely a viable competitor to the existing systems namely the Symbian operating system, Microsoft's Windows Mobile and also the Apple's iPhone interface.Being built on Linux and the ability to code apps with java gives developers the freedom to develop any application on the operating system and replace the existing ones without distinguishing them as original or third party applications. With the Android API and SDK's available online for any developer to utilise for free, it encourages developer to develop anything that their creativity brings. There's even an on going competition for developers to develop the best applications for android which will make him or her possibly $10 million richer!

I believe with the emergence of open source operating systems for the phone and applications that works with it will in the future make phones more user friendly, just as illustrated in the new threaded sms function in the demo of the Android prototype phone.It displays sms just like how we get to view chat messages in our usual chat like interface in our Internet messenger for easy tracking and viewing of messages received from a specific contact. Perhaps in the near future even companies like Nokia, Samsung, Motorola or HTC and the likes will finally be able to build more personalised branding of their very own interface and not specifically being forced to accept the limitation of Symbian or even Microsoft. Somehow I do hope the successful development and future implementation of open source operating systems for the phones will further improve phone productivity and bring down the price of phones in the near future. Of course till then, it's only my own wishful thinking.