There's very little info about this 'phoning in"…is it every few hours of game play (possibly streched over several days)? Or every few days of real time (so you could, in theory, finish the game without ever having 'phoned in')? At some point it becomes invasive. So, of course, they're being deliberately vague.
Personally this has shifted DA2 to an "unlikely buy" from a "probable buy". As a consumer I find it unacceptable that a product I *buy* (not rent for a small amount) can only be used if I have an internet connection which is used - not just *once*, for activation, but over, and over, and over again. What's sad is that the gaming population just rolls over and take this crap - thus encouraging "them". Ubi is a point in case - tons of people bought AC2, despite its unreasonable 'always online' requirement. That's all they needed to believes that it's an Ok way to package their products. Sure, it wasn't cracked immediately - but that scheme is now understood by pirates and any new games that use it wil be quickly cracked. I have skipped a numbe rof games I was keen on because of DRM requirements - looks like the number is set to grow since most companies are now adopting such tactics.