According to ifoAppleStore and AppleInsider, in about two weeks, Apple stores will start retiring their current Windows CE portable computers and start using custom iPod touches to check out customers.

Apple's new EasyPay system uses the the touchscreen interface of the iPod touch to help any customer with purchases and returns. Apple is wrapping the iPod touch in a hard plastic, two-piece shell with a magstripe reader in the back, and a barcode scanner installed on the top of the device. Inside the shell a rechargeable battery will help power the card reader and scanner, and there is a set of four lights on the back to help indicate the state of the battery's charge.

Credit card transactions are very similar to the current method, customers will write their signature on the iPod touch using a Pogo Sketch stylus.

The iPod touch scanner can read all four barcodes printed on the iPhone box, and automatically fills in the data fields on the order screen. "The software even displays the iPhone 'Terms and Conditions' for the customer to read, and then accepts the customers signature to verify their acceptance," says AppleInsider.