Apple is finally getting rid of the ass-ugly Winmo-based handheld checkout systems in its Apple Stores. After all, the devices themselves were always kind of an ironic statement to the vast adaption and usefulness of Window Mobile. But those will soon be gone and the checkout systems will use an iPod touch with a card scanner snapped onto the back. Oh, and yeah, it’s a whole lot sexier than the Winmo version and just looks like an iPod touch external battery/case.
AppleInsider has more info than you probably wanna know about the new device. But to summarize, the new system is about as Apple-fied as you can get with an UI that features flickable menus, a clean interface, but yet still robust with the ability to ring-up transactions and return merchandise.
The new system was built to make ringing up iPhones a lot simplier too. The scanner can detect and scan all four barcodes on the iPhone box and fill in the appropriate data fields automatically. Welcome to the future according to Apple, everyone.
Do customers actually care that much about what device they do their transactions on?
Yes. A true fanboy isn’t complete unless they can say they did absolutely everything on an apple product.
Just like a true fanboy sleeps with apple logo’d sheets and wipes with windows logo printed toilet paper.
I hope they make this device available to other business.
Restaurant wait staff with this in their pocket, very handy time saver.
Salesperson at the lumber yard building your order for delivery as you walk thru the store selecting items from the sample displays.
Commission sale people would love to whip one of these out while you still standing by that new living room suite.
Sorry. Um. If I’m out eating at a restaurant the LAST thing I want is my server standing over me at the table running my credit card then asking me to sign a piece of hardware.
“Oh, can I have a printed receipt please with my signature? Thanks.”
Devices like this have been available for over a decade from companies like Symbol. In fact, that was exactly what Apple has been using up until this. The reason more American businesses don’t use these things has nothing to do with a lack of availability, it has to do with business owners being cheap. Just about every restaurant in Japan, for example, has been using handheld devices to take down orders for years now.
super new tech bout to go out and buy one! geeks rule!
This is actually kind of cool. Hopefully, they’ll also work a lot better than those crappy Winmo devices that always seemed to lock up or not work properly.