VeriFone launches iPhone card acceptance hardware | Hacker News Reader

VeriFone launches iPhone card acceptance hardware

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12 pointspmikal8 comments

Apple is already using something similar (if not this device) in their stores. I noticed last week in the 5th Ave. Apple Store in NY that the guy had an iPod Touch with a card reader/barcode scasnner as opposed to the windows mobile devices they traditionally used for iPhone activation, etc.

He remarked it's apple's goal to move completely to these, as the WinCE devices suck. Pretty cool, although you've also just introduced a fantastic portable card skimmer :)

It doesn't look like Apple stores are using this one. As you mentioned it has a barcode scanner too. The sales drone didn't know details about it though.

+1 for VeriFone building this.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/11/03/exclusive_look... is what Apple's using.

A bit clunky due to small manufacturing runs (no ability to super-shrink and amortize expensive R&D over millions of copies).

This is what Square should have designed....

Why?

By designing their reader the way Square has, it drastically minimizes cost and opens the design so it works with most smartphones and even many laptops.

I hope that screenshot isn't representative of their software, either... it looks horrendous.

You think a card reader in a headphone jack is going to last long in a retail environment?

I leave my iPhone in my pocket with a headphone jack for hours at a time while walking/running/etc., and am ridiculously clumsy - I get the cable caught on doorknobs, go to sleep with earbuds on and have the headphone cable tugged out at odd angles, etc, without any apparent damage to the headphones or the iPhone. I've done this with every iPhone I've had since the first one, also, and the worst that's happened is an Apple Store Genius had to pull a bit of fuzz out of the bottom.

I admit this is purely anecdotal evidence, but as long as the reader itself is built well I see no reason why Square's reader wouldn't hold up in a retail environment.

If it really becomes a problem, there's no reason Square couldn't provide a reader similar to Verifone's. But with Square's method they get a ridiculously fast time to market across a wide variety of devices with far easier to manufacture devices and no lengthy Made for iPod approval times or worrying about supplies of iPod authentication chips from Apple.

No, but given Square's (inevitable) high fees I suspect it won't be used in high-volume retail anyway.

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