January 23, 2007 - Continuing its bold effert at keeping USB cables permanently plugged into PS3s throughout the world, Sony has announced the latest PlayStation 3 firmware update. The Japanese PS3 will turn 1.5 on 1/24, bringing with it a handful of minor updates.

The big change this time around seems to be in the form of payment options for the PlayStation Store. While the store has been limited exclusively payment via credit card until now, the PS3 will now be able to accept "Edy" system pre-paid electronic money. You're required to have an IC Reader/Writer attached to your PS3 in order to use this system. Readers are now available for the PC.

Other changes include support for Korean language input via keyboard and updated PlayStation and PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility.

Stay tuned for details on the stateside version of the 1.5 firmware update.

Thanks to http://ps3.ign.com/articles/757/757625p1.html for sharing the news with us!