Once again Apple re-releases an old product/technology with their name on it and it becomes an epic, ground breaking and industry changing device.

Yeah, there were already mobile phones before the iPhone. No new technology there.

I never do this, but I'm only doing this because I haven't seen anyone point it out already. It is an "advance" peek, not an "advanced" peek. The two are quite different.

Once again, I apologize for doing this, since I don't quite like it when other people do.

The word is "Peek", not "Peak".

HTH.

They are just for payment by card though and have no other function.

And that case looks kind of like a Mophie Air JuicePack.

Hahahahahaha. I was thinking the same. Hopefully, that new scanner has a battery pack.

Quote:

How did the Desing of this BRICK?

Who did the design or that sentence?

You can't buy it, so why do you care what it looks like?

"Apple's solution consists of a hard plastic, two-piece slip-on shell with a grip texture. The magstripe reader is tucked onto the back of the shell, and the barcode scanner is installed within the top of the device. Hidden inside the shell is a rechargeable battery to power the card reader and scanner. A set of four tiny lights on the back indicate the unit's state of battery charge."

http://images.appleinsider.com/easypay-091103-2.png

Follow the link in the Story to AppleInsider. Read The paragraph immediately before the first picture.

In the image above you can see the mag stripe reader when looking at the device end-on.

AppInisder says: [S]ome other transactions will continue to be processed through the existing POS system, including using two or more credit/debit cards to pay for a single transaction, accepting bank or traveler's checks, and processing returns for cash.

The bit you quoted simply says Apple was smart enough not to require the customer to handle this device to enter his PIN for Debit cards. I would be very reluctant to enter a PIN in a device that wasn't hard wired. If I was apple I would be reluctant to have to hand this device to a customer under any circumstances.

So it DOES have ar card swiper, and Rene DID read the article.

Not even Rene must have read the actual article.

"Debit card transactions will be a hybrid of the EasyPay touch and the existing Hypercom desktop terminal. A customer's order will be entered and logged on the iPod touch. The customer will be directed to one of the store's existing Hypercom-brand credit card terminals, where they will swipe their card and enter their PIN. When the card is approved, a code is returned to the iPod touch for matching with the order."

Not just for payments at the Restaurant, but also for taking orders.

The entire menu could be on line, the table layout (who gets the Croque Madam?), which seats are on which bill, the up-to-the-minute cellar inventory, Reminders so the server won't forget a table, Order Up paging from the kitchen, the whole nine yards.

The bigger the venue, the better it would work. Big busy bars, larger restaurants, Room Service, all would kill for this.

Downside: Restaurants jobs no longer suitable for high-school drop outs. Oh, well!

There are a LOT of stores and businesses that would love to get to this level of portability.

I can see this thing ending up in Restaurants, ball parks, convention centers, big box stores of all types.

Maybe Apple is getting serious about Business applications after all but ignoring that segment of the market for the last several years.