[image courtesy of TechCrunch]

It’s no secret that many members of the Gear Diary team use Mophie’s battery packs. Well, it looks like Judie, Dan and Larry may get a chance to see another brand new Mophie product at CES next week:  a credit card reader for the iPhone/iPod touch.

The new case/credit card reader will be used in conjunction with a dedicated Mophie application to capture and process credit card transactions.  Per TechCrunch this solution is geared towards small business owners, instead of merely being marketed as an alternative for iPhone/iPod touch owners to enter their credit card information manually for online purchases:

The credit card reader works with an iPhone application and is meant for small business owners to conduct transactions easier.

Right now it is unclear who, assuming it will be a third-party, will be handling payment processing.  Mophie’s solution looks like it will be a direct competitor to Jack Dorsey’s Square iPhone Payment System, which was recently touted at being worth a cool $40 Million before launch.  It will be interesting to see how Dorsey, the former CEO and co-founder of Twitter, and Mophie will fare with their mobile payment solutions.  Is a dedicated iPhone credit card reader something that will be embraced by small businesses — or, for that matter — consumers in general?

If so, how long before the phrase “iSkimming” becomes part of our Apple-speak vernacular?

[via TechCrunch, Electronista and Engadget]