Apple Store workers will soon have more apps for their iPod touch-based EasyPay handhelds, a source claims. The devices are currently meant to run Easy Touch, an app which handles roaming checkouts in tandem with an attached card reader and barcode scanner. Apple is gradually retiring an assortment of Windows CE-based checkout units, which have been criticized as slow and unreliable.

One of the new apps should allow clerks to replace iPods and iPhones while on the move, doing away with the need to return to a Genius Bar. Another, meanwhile, is said to help stockroom workers manage inventory. It is uncertain when the new apps may be deployed, but the source suggests they should be ready "very soon" in stores across Europe and the US.

Apple has also been rumored to be developing a retail app for the public, Concierge, which would handle reservation tasks and subscription monitoring.