MWSF 2010 iPhone: FloTV, Square, iV Plus, Mobile Navigator

[Mark Booth]

Square Up looks awesome! Merchant credit card accounts typically charge a monthly fee. You can get around that by using PayPal but Square Up looks a LOT more handy for remote CC transactions. $1 buy-in and no fees unless you use it for actual transactions! EXCELLENT!

FloTV don't do it for me. Now that the 3G-compatible Sling Player app release is eminent, I'll be able to watch TV anywhere I have a 3G or WiFi signal and have hundreds of channels to choose from. Or, watch whatever I have recorded on my DVR if I like.

Spend money on a Sling Box and Sling Player for iPhone instead of FloTV.

(And, yes, jailbreakers, I already know I could have been using Sling Player with 3G for months if I wanted to jailbreak my iPhone.)

Mark

 

[LagunaSol]

The 32GB 3G iPad is for those heavy FloTV days...

Of course you could always use the 16GB wifi only iPad for the lighter days.

Dear people of the Internet,

Please refer to your dictionaries, where you will find that the words "flow" and "pad" also have meanings that do not relate specifically to menstruation - and in fact typically do not relate specifically to menstruation.

Oh, and grow up. The 7th-grade-level humor on this particular topic has passed its sell-by date.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

The apparently-few rational thinkers that remain.

 

[DakotaGuy]

Dear people of the Internet,

Please refer to your dictionaries, where you will find that the words "flow" and "pad" also have meanings that do not relate specifically to menstruation - and in fact typically do not relate specifically to menstruation.

Oh, and grow up. The 7th-grade-level humor on this particular topic has passed its sell-by date.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

The apparently-few rational thinkers that remain.

Maybe Apple should have hired a 7th grade boy as a consultant when they were coming up with a new name for their tablet. My guess is he would have told them enough jokes they would have picked something better. Maybe call it an iPod Touch Maxi because that is what it really is... wait a minute... that one doesn't work much better!

 

[jordii]

credit card payments on the iPhone? Best invention for escorts since sliced bread (oh and of course contraceptives).

Nope. Chargeback potential. Cash is king.

 

[JMax1]

Dear people of the Internet,

Please refer to your dictionaries, where you will find that the words "flow" and "pad" also have meanings that do not relate specifically to menstruation - and in fact typically do not relate specifically to menstruation.

Oh, and grow up. The 7th-grade-level humor on this particular topic has passed its sell-by date.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

The apparently-few rational thinkers that remain.

Dear Thought Police,

Even if Mr. Webster doesn't make reference to it, I think the psycho-social ramifications, as well as the colloquial use of "flow" and "pad" need to be taken into account for any name choice. Yes it is potty humor I was using, but can you actually tell me you have never laughed at or told a dirty/off-color joke? I really don't think we are reading into the name too much. Give it a little while and the humor will wear itself out and we will all be desensitized to it and stop making the jokes and then you will be happy. And besides, the new iPad + FloTV joke is TOTALLY new because the FloTV app is new.

 

[GodzRod]

Why Flo When You Can Sling?

For $179.00 or less with discounts or rebates for a Sling Box, plus $29.99, for the Sling Mobile App, you can Use your iPhone to watch all the channels that you've subscribed to from your cable, Fios, or satellite tv provider.

 

[Chaos215bar2]

For $179.00 or less with discounts or rebates for a Sling Box, plus $29.99, for the Sling Mobile App, you can Use your iPhone to watch all the channels that you've subscribed to from your cable, Fios, or satellite tv provider.

The Sling Mobile App is $29.99??? That's ridiculous. I just figured the app existed to sell the hardware, and thus was either free or very cheap. What if multiple people in my family wanted to use Sling Mobile on different platforms?

 

[Mlrollin91]

Wow, the Navigon app update looks great. Hopefully it's free. If so, my Garmin is going to the wife!

Last I heard is that the update for myroutes, twitter and facebook is free, but its a $9.99 in-app purchase for the 3D view.

 

[Eric S.]

the universal remote is a must. need one for the whole house next.

Getting that enclosure around the whole house must be a bitch.

 

[wizard]

Hookers are going to love the Square!

Probably many others that work in the field also. Think about it though, this is a great idea for contractors no matter how long the task.


Dave

 

[3goldens]

My thoughts

FloTv looks like complete garbage. No good channels unless you are a fox news fan. NBC is crap programing, not one is broadcast live! I would think folks would be better off with a Slingbox at home and invest $40.00 on the mobile program and an extended battery for a better overall viewing experience. Speaking of which where the hell is our update for viewing over 3G!!!

FloTv will never make it unless they get some programing people want to watch and not this garbage they are trying to pass off as TYV!

Square UP looks cool and a way to eliminate paypal!


iV Plus - Universal Remote, Camera Flash and Battery Pack-Brilliant idea, Mophie should have come up with this!
I am down for one of these only worry is that they are going to come out with a new phone real soon and this will be obsolete.

Wireless USB A/V Adapter-Sounds good, but how many more pieces of equipment does one want to have connected to their TV monitor and much will it cost? Not sure I think this is really groundbreaking news or that I am going to run right and get one of these!

 

[kernkraft]

Useful in the forest

I like FloTV and I just love the idea of Square. I bet that those Extreme Loggers are out of their safety boots!

 

[schlitzz]

Square up guys...

Dorks.

 

[killmoms]

The Square demo video was beautifully done. I'd love to know who the creator is.

If you mean the creator of the video, why that’d be its principle star: gentleman, scholar, and all-around hilarious Minor Internet Personality Adam Lisagor.

 

[SandynJosh]

Come on... $130 for that remote slash case. That is way to much. I most I would pay is maybe $60!. Thats it!!

The extra $70 gets you this useful device in Zune Brown. Now don't you feel foolish?

 

[SandynJosh]

...Give it a little while and the humor will wear itself out and ...

It HAS worn itself out and that's why you're being asked to grow up.

 

[GodzRod]

The Sling Mobile App is $29.99??? That's ridiculous. I just figured the app existed to sell the hardware, and thus was either free or very cheap. What if multiple people in my family wanted to use Sling Mobile on different platforms?

My guess is that Sling Media sees the writting on the wall and is trying to make every dollar they can before this type of service becomes a commodity; Comcast has announced their intention to provide this type of service to their bundled cable and HighSpeed Internet subscribers.

 

[japanime]

The Square Up device looks cool, and I tried to enter their beta program several months ago, but haven't heard anything back from them. I've already got a merchant account, though, and am not sure I want to use a PayPal-type system (which is what Square Up is) to collect credit card payments.

Mophie is also making a credit card swiper for the iPhone, and it will connect to the dock. According to the Mophie website, the swiper has already been approved/authorized by Apple as a "Works with iPhone" product.

Unfortunately, the Mophie website doesn't say when the device will actually go on sale. Did anyone here who attended Macworld visit the Mophie booth and hear anything about this product and its release date?

 

[joeshell383]

Acquisition by Apple

I could very easily see Apple acquiring SquareUp.

With RFID support built-in the iPhone could also accept VISA PayWave, MasterCard PayPass, American Express ExpressPay, and Discover ZIP.

With iTunes integration and iPhone to iPhone support, Apple could become a huge force in the payment industry.

Also see iCharge. http://www.icharge.net/

 

[arn]

Mophie is also making a credit card swiper for the iPhone, and it will connect to the dock. According to the Mophie website, the swiper has already been approved/authorized by Apple as a "Works with iPhone" product.

Unfortunately, the Mophie website doesn't say when the device will actually go on sale. Did anyone here who attended Macworld visit the Mophie booth and hear anything about this product and its release date?

The square up service will work with the mophie solution too. They are more interested in being a service provider than a hardware manufacuter. They make the square swiper just so customers have a practically free way to do it. The mophie reader will not be free and will otherwise require you to set up service with someone if not square.

arn

 

[SFStateStudent]

I'm guessing that wasn't actually meant as a reply to my post. Square UP does sound pretty interesting, though. If they're successful, it could be a great service.

You're right, I didn't intend to reply to your post; sorry for any confusion...

 

[sparrky]

For $179.00 or less with discounts or rebates for a Sling Box, plus $29.99, for the Sling Mobile App, you can Use your iPhone to watch all the channels that you've subscribed to from your cable, Fios, or satellite tv provider.

Or get a Hava for $129 and the Hava app for $9.99.

 

[japanime]

The square up service will work with the mophie solution too. They are more interested in being a service provider than a hardware manufacuter. They make the square swiper just so customers have a practically free way to do it. The mophie reader will not be free and will otherwise require you to set up service with someone if not square.

arn

From what I've read, the Mophie swiper will cost around $200, and will allow retailers who have merchant accounts to process cards. That is probably a reasonable price — as long as they don't also charge a per-swipe fee.

Square Up will give the swiper away for free but they will take nearly 3 percent of every swipe/sale (which is far from being "practically free").

For retailers who seldom take credit cards, the Square Up solution would be a great deal.

But if a retailer accepts credit cards daily and are already paying merchant account fees, Mophie will probably be the way to go.

 

[SandynJosh]

For retailers who seldom take credit cards, the Square Up solution would be a great deal.

But if a retailer accepts credit cards daily and are already paying merchant account fees, Mophie will probably be the way to go.

Paying close attention to the video, you'll see that you don't even need to be a retailer to benefit from the Square Up. You could be selling your junk on a garage sale, for example. It is unusual in that a non-retailer could be able to process a credit card as easily as a retailer.

 

[Veri]

essentially this thing replaced cash and takes money out of government control. that is not good.

This does not come close to replacing cash:

1. If you are not worried about 3% being taken from your sales revenue, you are not doing business right, and if you're a consumer thinking "oh, the shop swallows that", well, no;

2. Cash transactions are complete when the money is handed over - credit card transactions are complete at the end of the chargeback period offered by the card issuer;

3. Credit card transactions are tracked in central databases, giving you a good idea of who was doing what, where and when;

4. If I give you $x cash, you will not get more than $x. If I hand you my credit card / credit card number, you may have the means to steal up to my credit limit. The easier it is to set up an account, the easier it is for you to pull off this scam.

The regulatory issues you have listed are sensible, I believe, and unfortunately they have not even been solved for PayPal yet, which is able to act like a self-regulating bank. Self-regulation is fallacious, because it only requires sufficient trustworthiness to gain sufficient custom to win sufficient financial might to overwhelm those who are harmed. It misses the republican principle of protection of every individual, not just the majority.

Please refer to your dictionaries, where you will find that the words "flow" and "pad" also have meanings that do not relate specifically to menstruation - and in fact typically do not relate specifically to menstruation.

They're funny because they're slightly taboo, and they're taboo because of the repressed. There are advantages to a Roman society where aspects of reproductivity are kept as private as the individual chooses, rather than a Christian society where one is instructed on what is clean to reveal. Not that classical poetry didn't contain hilarious innuendo... it's just that it came with an overtone of pride, not shame.