Swipe It Credit Card Reader For The iPhone – Subtlety Be Damned!

It lacks the subtlety of the Square payment system’s iPhone/iPod Touch credit card reader, but there’s just something about Macally’s new Swipe It Reader that makes it look so much more reliable and trustworthy. Maybe it’s because of the Swipe It Reader’s slightly bulky design that looks like the credit card readers we’ve been using at stores all these years? I’m not sure. But part of that bulk comes from the device’s spring-loaded arm which cleverly allows it to hold iPhones and iPod Touches wrapped in cases, or whatever future designs Mr. Ives comes up with.

The Swipe It Reader is compatible with Visa, MasterCard, AMEX and Discover cards, and all swiped data is encrypted before it’s passed from the reader to the custom Swipe It app running on either device. Transactions can be wirelessly completed either over a cellular data connection or Wi-Fi, and while the reader supposedly only draws minimal power from the iPhone or Touch, I’m sure it won’t do any favors to the battery life of either of those devices, so an included AC adapter can also be used. As for pricing and availability info? That’s currently listed as ‘Coming Soon’ on the Macally website.

(Source: Oh Gizmo!)

Tap Your Skin To Make A Phone Call

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Microsoft Research have developed a way for people to use their own skin as a keypad or pull down menu to control MP3 devices, make phone calls or play games.
It’s called Skinput. The user wears an armband, which contains a very small projector that projects a menu or keypad onto a person’s hand or forearm.

(Source: PreSurfer)

ASUS Finally Says “Me Too!” – Launches Their DR-900 eBook Reader

Good for you ASUS! You looked at a crowded market that seems to double in size almost on a weekly basis and said to yourself, “I want a tiny sliver of that pie that in all likelihood will be replaced by more advanced technologies in less than a year!” Thankfully though their entry does slightly stand above the rest with a 9-inch, 1024×768 pixel resolution touchscreen e-paper display, and an overall design that keeps the hardware buttons to a minimum.

It will have Wifi built-in, as well as the option for 3G, and the battery life is touted as being good enough for about 10,000 page turns, though probably less if you’re using the wireless hardware. It supports PDF, TXT, ePub and HTML files as well as MP3s facilitated by a 3.5mm headphone jack, and the 4GB of onboard storage can be expanded thanks to an SD card slot. And like the netbook market where the hardware is virtually all the same, the DR-900’s success will probably come down to how much ASUS decides to sell it for.

(Source: OhGizmo!!!)