Sony PaSoRi Card Reader / Writer

Looking for a useful gadget as a Christmas’ present? Why not consider the Sony’s PaSoRi, a contactless IC card reader cum writer, that allows you to top-up your ez-link card online from the comfort and convenience of your home or office.

This white and light weight gadget is easy to use and connect easily to personal computers or laptops via Universal Serial Board (commonly known as USB). Best of all, it is about the size of a credit card and easily portable. You just have to log into www.ezlink.com.sg/, and through the Sony PaSoRi, top-up their EZ-link cards using the VISA Credit or Debit Cards. You can also view your previous transactions and safely and securely purchase goods online.

The only drawback for having this convenience – a small fee will be charged, just like when you purchase your movie tickets online. Another drawback for the gadget is that it currently only cater to those who do not have a credit or debit cards.

The Sony PaSoRi reader / writer is priced at S$49 and is available at Sony Gallery stores and major electronic shops, such as Best Denki, in Singapore.

Nokia 6288

3G Mobile Technology

Have you checked out the sleek new Nokia 6288 mobile phone? This versatile mobile gadget is indeed a world of difference in terms of its technology from the Nokia 6230 mobile phone that has faithfully served me for more than 2 years! Of course, many would say the 2 gadgets are incommensurable. The main difference is Nokia 6288 is empowered with a 3G efficiency technology that allows you to visually keep in touch with your love ones and friends just by a phone call away. Coupled with the Singapore mobile operator MobileOne (M1) now offering free M1-to-M1 video calls (free for the first 5 minutes only), you now have more reasons to stay connected visually everyday. The only drawback of using this mobile gadget's video call is that the visuals are not as sharp and clear as most would prefer, probably due to the mobile service provider.

Mobile Phone Camera
The 6288 has indeed come a long way when we talk about its camera function. With an external "camera key" that instantly switch to the camera mode, you are definitely a click-away from taking an image resolution of 1,600 x 1,200 pixels with its built-in 2 megapixel camera. On top of that, the mobile phone also allows you to select the "video", "night mode", "flash" or a 10-second "self-timer" option. Who needs to carry another digital camera anymore with such handy technology constantly in your pocket or bags?

Mobile Messaging

Let us not forget the very important messaging function of 6288. To start off, it is now packed with a improved 1,000 characters message instead of the 480 characters in the 6230. Nokia has also added 2 selection options for 6288 users - the "Recently used" list of messaging contacts or "Open log" to the contacts parties that was made by the user (apart from the usual "Contact" and "Contact group" options). 6288 has also put the message receiving parties and message into the same page screen, which allows you to reconfirm the message and receiving parties by scrolling up and down the screen. The drawback is that when you are at the end of the message, the cursor does not auto jump back to the top of the message. But I guess this drawback can be offset by the "cancel message sending" function if you changed your mind about sending the message, which was previously not available. Nokia has also improved its calculator function, with some additional scientific calculator's functions, such as "Sin", "Cos", "Tan", "Deg" and even memory functions ("MC", "MR" and "MS"). It is indeed another step by Nokia to pack some useful gadgets into the mobile phone. Technology in the Nokia 6288 has indeed further redefine the mobile phones as another essential item in our daily lives.

Verdict: 3 / 5

I give the Nokia 6288 mobile phone a rating of 3 / 5 for its features-packed and generally user-friendly approach, though there are definitely rooms for improvement in some aspect of its functions.