The big surprise of Apple Store 2.0? The use of iPad 2 tablets by company employees to process payments made for the purchase of products from stores. That's what it says AppleInsider who found out that in Apple stores all over the world iPad 2 tablets with SmartCovers were stockpiled that would be used by employees. These tablets would be used in stores by employees to process payments, but it is not known if they will be used together with the existing iPod Touches. The iPad tablets will run a new version of the RetailMe system that would allow a better registration of orders and customer requests.
People familiar with Apple's retail operations revealed that stores across the US have been stocked with dozens of iPads that are being prepared for use by employees. Training and use of the hardware could begin as soon as this weekend. The delivery of iPads to stores around the country comes as Apple is apparently preparing to release an iPad version of its proprietary in-house communications client known as RetailMe. The RetailMe service offers information about products and training videos for retail employees. One person privy to the workings of Apple's brick-and-mortar stores suggested that the RetailMe software for iPad could turn out to be the password protected gigabytes of corporate training data that employees were recently issued. Still, as usual, employees have been kept in the dark, leaving them to put pieces together and draw conclusions based on the available evidence.
In conclusion, it is not about the launch of any new product, nor about the implementation of a payment system through NFC, it is about an evolution in the payment and complaints processing system. For Apple it is a step forward, for us it means nothing because it is not intended for customers.
