Apple Thoughts: Apple Stores Switch from Windows PDAs to iPod Touch

"One of the strangest things about the Apple Stores, in my opinion, is how they always used Windows based PDAs for customer checkouts not at the register. Sure, Apple didn't want or really need to make their own system, but it was just a little strange to me."

It must have felt strange to them too, as they are now going to be using the iPod Touch with barcode scanner and credit card readers. The only store reported to be using them now, in a trial phase, is the Valley Fair Mall Store in Santa Clara, CA. iPhone Alley has a more complete writeup on this switchover in case you want more info on what exactly they are going to be using.

Apple is also changing how the employees in the store will look, having everyone wear the same color t-shirt to avoid confusion with customers. Some customers reported being a bit confused about which employee they needed to contact since they were wearing different colored shirts. However, they may change the color of the t-shirts just to keep things interesting.