Apple Picks Best Tool for Mobile Checkout: Windows (CE)

[Jonathon Watkins]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1433' target='_blank'>http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1433</a><br /><br /></div><i>"After running a pilot program at its retail stores this past holiday shopping season, Apple Computer has deemed its EasyPay checkout systems a "big success" and plans to further integrate the devices into its retail experience . . . . [Apple] began deploying the wireless, paperless credit card scanners at its retail stores earlier this year as part of its iPod Express checkout experience. Apple Geniuses equipped with an EasyPay system can process purchases from customers anywhere on the showroom floor effectively bringing the checkout counter to the customer rather than the other way around. . . . The customer's card is swiped through a scanner attached to a Symbol Technologies PPT8800 wireless handheld device and an email receipt is dispatched and delivered "within an hour.""</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/PPT880.jpg" /><br /> <br />As you can (just) see on the screen (and from the <a href="http://www.symbol.com/product.php?productID=250&amp;tab=Data%20Sheet">Symbol datasheet</a>), the PPT8800 is running Windows CE. Good to see that Apple picked the best tool for the job for this great idea. Genius! ;-)

[MitchellO]

Whats funny is they won't natively sync with Mac :lol:





(or does iSync support PPC now?)

[Jonathan1]

Whats funny is they won't natively sync with Mac :lol:

(or does iSync support PPC now?)

Why would it need to sync with a Mac? Its a POS system. All it needs to do it be able to get on a network with IP and be able to transmit data to a server in the sky, or locally somewhere.

On a side note I ordered my first Apple computer since my IIe a couple weeks ago. MacBook Pro 2.83Ghz, 2Gb RAM, smallest HD they have (Going to upgrade to a 160GB drive this summer.) I'm really looking forward to this computer. Even more so now that the freaking mobo on my Optiplex desktop died last week :? and I'm stuck on a 833Mhz Toshiba tank of a laptop. :mecry:

[dMores]

2,83GHz ???
you wish :)

it's 1,83Ghz, and i'm excited as hell to get that thing.
my 867Mhz powerbook is really caughing and wheezing lately, probably because my video and 3D projects are becoming more and more complicated.

okay, back on track:

what this news could bring, is a better integration of apple-win synchronization. i can envision is an iSync update that will finally, natively, support windows mobile devices. true, that thing they're using is a POS system, but i could expect them to want to call up other data on it as well, data that is stored on a mac server (availability, repair-center-schedule, whatever) to further expand the de-centralized service for the customer.
happy happy joy joy :)

[AzrealJG]

what this news could bring, is a better integration of apple-win synchronization. i can envision is an iSync update that will finally, natively, support windows mobile devices. true, that thing they're using is a POS system, but i could expect them to want to call up other data on it as well, data that is stored on a mac server (availability, repair-center-schedule, whatever) to further expand the de-centralized service for the customer.
happy happy joy joy :)

Why would they sync to do that though? The Symbol devices are going to be on the Store's wireless network, that sort of look-up is going to be either through a Webpage, or through a custom app going straight through to a webservice or database. Syncing would be useless for that sort of application, as you'd need to sync the entire database down to the local device.

I'm sure it'd be nice to have better syncing, but I don't think this particular application is going to need any syncing at all.