This was bound to happen. Some one would test out the idea of using the iPad as a Point of Sale device. Here are two examples –
Lecere Corporation which provides restaurant management software, has announced “its support for the Apple iPad, which will be used as the primary order entry device in the pilot project to start on April 30”.
Here is a video to demonstrate the use case.
The CEO of the company says – “Using [iPod Touch and the iPad for order entry and bar/hostess interfaces], along with a couple of standard ticket printers, brings the startup cost for the [restaurant] to under $2,000. Contrast that with an upfront cost of about $20,000 to install a traditional, on-premises POS system with its heavy, non-movable POS terminals, printers, and back-office servers.”
A few weeks ago I wrote about a company called Square that lets you convert your iPhone into a POS device. Not surprisingly they now have an iPad version which looks even cooler. You can find a techcrunch article on this app here.