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Comment by wonginator1221 | Hacker News Reader

Although, I was initially skeptical of Square's success, I have found Square to be great for splitting small charges such as a dinner or a gas bill between my friends and I. The little card reader gizmo is a great conversation starter.

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What does the dongle thingy feel like when youre using it? I've never seen one IRL, but all I can think about when I see the photos is that it would spin around, be awkward to use, and maybe even wear out the headphone jack. Any comments from your experience are appreciated.

It feels a little flimsy and does sin around in the headphone jack, however, it's a neat little dongle and I have yet to have any problems reading cards. I generally keep the dongle in my bag so that I have easy access to it when I need it.

It doesnt matter. I want more things to carry in pocket to feel cool and call it disruptive.

Square users only keep the device into their phones when they are taking a payment. When it is not needed they will carry it in their pocket, backpack, purse, or even put it on their keychains.

Even if someone were to keep the device in their phone all the time I do not think it would wear out their headphone jack. It is no different than keeping headphones plugged in all the time.

It does feel a little flimsy and it takes a few tries to get the hang of it reliably. At some point square will need to provide more heavy-duty readers for higher volume merchants.

I epoxied a keyring onto my Square device so that I can keep it on a keychain. Having anticipated the spinning thing, I have the keyring hanging off the same side as the headphone jack. That way, when I have it hooked up to my iPhone, it acts as a brace and doesn't spin at all. It wiggles slightly, but no spinning.

cool. do you eat the square service charge for these transactions, split it, or pass it all on?

I use Square for the same things. I usually just eat the fee. The rate is so low (2.75%), that the fee doesn't even hit $1 until you're charging over $36. And if we're spending that much, I'm not gonna quibble over what's essentially change.

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