But what about usability? I'd rather have a phone with a great interface so I can be productive, than something that makes me jump through hoops for simple tasks (regardless of how fast the hoop-jumping is with a Cortex A8 processor.)

@(Unverified) Those devices are expensive enough that they only pay off if you do a certain volume and/or large-ticket items. A lot of small restaurants near me are cash-only for that reason. It's the same situation with the guys at the local farmer's markets. The appeal of Square seems to be that it's cheaper. It may be perfect for them.

Also, most payment terminals are slow and have terrible UIs. I'm grateful for any company trying to make payments simple, fast and user-friendly.

@air on Yes, that's what makes it compatible with any mobile phone (with a 3.5mm jack, which is hardly all, but is quite a few.)

@Geqxon Yes, swipe of a magnetic strip is really how America does all of its payments."Smart chips" never caught on in the US. Most cards don't have the chips, and most retailers don't have the readers.

If it's a bank debit card, most payment terminals give you the option of "debit" or "credit". It comes from your checking account either way. With "debit" you enter a PIN; with "credit" you sign your signature, although sometimes you don't have to sign (just swipe) if the amount is under $50.

Confusingly, most payment terminals expect you to press "cancel" to indicate you wish to pay with "credit". I know... it makes no sense. That's one reason I'm excited to see a company like Square actually attempt to make the payment process user-friendly. It's desperately needed.

I think this is pretty great.

No, it's not a skimmer. People are just freaking out because it looks like a skimmer, and it looks easy. That doesn't mean the technology involved actually makes skimming any easier for anyone. If someone wanted to skim/scam, I'm sure there are easier tools already available.

Unless you have intimate knowledge of the security precautions and technology Square has (or hasn't) implemented, you can't say it's unsafe or insecure. I would certainly hope they've done their homework and made it secure. They seem to have some serious people involved and invested. If it's not secure, it will go down in flames quite quickly. I don't see any reason to assume that's the case, though. Assuming that they're complete idiots is insulting.

Sure, RFID / NFC payment using our phones would be wonderful, but that requires cooperation of the credit card companies, banks, phone carriers, and phone makers. The technology has existed for years, but the companies can't agree, because the phone carriers want a cut of every transaction, but the credit card companies aren't about to agree to that. Until all of the greedy companies can agree, we're stuck with cards in wallets, and this is a nice solution for cards in wallets.

Sure, most retailers of a decent size will continue to have standard wired (or expensive wireless) credit card equipment, but there are tens of thousands of very small shops and restaurants that this is perfect for, not to mention people selling at craft fairs, farmer's markets, etc. Such businesses could only afford to accept cash before, and missed out on some sales because of it. This is a really a wonderful innovation for them.

@DavidT I'm pretty sure the idea is that the iPhone and Square reader are the merchant's, not the consumer's.

Exactly. The slide shows that both the "Sholes" and "Sholes Tablet" share the same 3.7" display, so clearly "tablet" doesn't mean something bigger, it just means a tablet shape, as in no sliding keyboard. What's hard to believe about that?

In fact, it implies that they replaced the keyboard with a better camera, which is sensible and common. Witness the difference between the HTC Touch Pro2 and Touch Diamond2.

It captures 720p30 HD video. It also has an 80 fps mode (at lower resolution) and outputs over HDMI (with an adapter cable) at 720p.

A "shield"? That's generous. The new d-pad shape reminds me of a fat lady in a thong. Eww. I have no desire to be pressing on something resembling camel toe when I use my phone. Pass.

I think you missed the fact that Android doesn't support stylus input, nor handwriting recognition. Android is designed from the ground up for fingers only, which is precisely why the choice of resistive is so odd on this specific phone.