Square

At Square, an obsession with the 'magic' of hardware design

SAN FRANCISCO -- After eight years as director of engineering for iPhone, iPod, and iPad accessories at Apple, Jesse Dorogusker could have gone just about anywhere he wanted for his next gig.

He chose Square, the mobile payments company that, among other things, gives away its signature credit card reader for free.

By Dorogusker's own admission, that's a "terrible hardware business" model. So what inspired someone with a solid gold resume to leave a company that makes billions on hardware for a place that gives away his work for nothing?

For Dorogusker, it was the opportunity … Read more

Review: Square FX provides a number of extra features for Instagram users

Square FX solves a problem many people have when uploading pictures to Instagram--the fact that their pictures are generally cropped to fit the square frame. While this doesn't affect all photos, it can have a negative impact on quite a few, and Square FX allows you to resize, refit, and avoid cropping images before they go to Instagram, albeit with limited additional features.

While Square FX does everything it promises quite well, it lacks enough features to make the trial truly useful as a supplement to Instagram. When you first open the app, you can choose an image and … Read more

The 404 1,280: Where we dig up the truth (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Film crew to dig up Atari landfill site, maybe score 3.5 million copies of E.T.

- The opposite of standing desks: the computer workstation for the person with everything.

- Unlocking The Truth is the most brutal sixth grade metal band ever.

- Hatebeak: a death metal band fronted by a parrot.

- Ex-military snipers called into shoot feral goats from helicopters to protect Galapagos Tortoise population.… Read more

Square follows PayPal to Japan for mobile payments

Mobile-payment-processing company Square has brought its operation to Japan.

The company announced the news on Thursday, saying that it will charge merchants 3.25 percent per swipe. As with its service in the U.S., all funds will be automatically deposited into the merchant's bank account on the next business day.

In order to bring Square to Japan, the company teamed up with Sumitomo Mitsui Card Corporation, a credit card processing firm in Japan. The terms of that partnership were not announced.

Square's entry into Japan comes about a year after PayPal brought its own offering, PayPal Here, … Read more

Dish said to bid $2B for Lightsquared spectrum

LightSquared's wireless spectrum could be getting a new owner, according to a new report.

According to Bloomberg, Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen made a $2 billion bid last week for LightSquared's radio frequencies, which are owned by private investment firm Harbinger Capital Partners.

Bloomberg added, based on unnamed sources said to be familiar with the deal, that LightSquared has until the end of the month to make a decision.

Dish is already bogged down by other networking and communications deals floating around -- namely a $25.5 billion bid for Sprint Nextel. The nation's third-largest mobile provider … Read more

Square adds PayPal-like cash by e-mail feature

Square has launched a new feature that will let anyone send cash to anyone else's debit card.

The new Square Cash service, which is currently invite-only, seems to bring the mobile payments company a little closer to PayPal's core offering. A video for the service suggests that anyone using it can send money simply by using the recipient's e-mail address.

Reached for comment, a Square spokesperson said only that, "We're excited to share Square Cash with our friends. We'll continue to invite others to try it out in the coming weeks."

TechCrunch was … Read more

PayPal takes aim at Square with free mobile payment processing

PayPal is taking a major leap into the payment-processing space: it's eliminating fees for businesses that sign up for its service.

The news was announced on Tuesday by PayPal president David Marcus, who said that any business that dumps its old point-of-sale (POS) services in favor of PayPal Here -- the company's mobile-payment-processing service -- or another POS offering that integrates PayPal's technology, it'll wave fees through the rest of the year.

"We will offer free credit, debit card, check, and of course PayPal processing for the remainder of the year to any qualifying U.… Read more

Square unveils Stand for Register merchants

SAN FRANCISCO--Aiming to help Square Register merchants who have had no standard hardware, Square today unveiled a stand meant to hold an iPad and make for an easy and common point-of-sale experience.

At a press event across the street from Square's office, the mobile payment company's CEO, Jack Dorsey, and Jesse Dorogusker, who leads the Square Register team, showed off Stand, its new hardware intended to give merchants a streamlined way, and a single aesthetic, to accept payments.

The problem, said Dorsey, is that merchants have had no single method to take payments using Square Register. Around the … Read more

Square hires former Obama trade official

Square, the company behind the credit card reader that attaches to mobile devices, means business.

The company announced today that it has hired Demetrios J. Marantis, a former member of President Barack Obama's cabinet who served as the country's top trade official.

Marantis will lead the company's efforts on international government, regulatory, and policy work as Square moves into more international markets. Square boasted that it has seen success in Canada, its first market outside the U.S. The company saw 90 percent more per capita in the number of payments in Canada than in the United … Read more