Then the tablet is just a menu. The companies that I have seen working on this kind of product are adding card swipe readers and printers to expedite payment. Otherwise you're still waiting for a server to take your card and come back with a receipt.
By "better" I meant "works with a stylus". Most of Europe might be paying for meals with PIN-based debit, but a lot of Americans still pay with signature-based credit. The banks need the signature.
Not just europeans, but also japanese and all countries in south america (not sure about other asian countries and africa). Also, pin works for credit cards too, in these countries, not just debt
Why do the banks need signatures in the US? Specially badly-drawn ones that don't even ressemble the actual signatures? (I can never sign properly in one of those POS machines from CVS, ever)
Signatures allegedly lower the fraud rate, or at least assist in proving fraud if a card is stolen.
Some banks now offer the option to bypass signature capture at the tradeoff of a slightly higher merchant rate. Many quick-serve restaurants (Chipotle comes to mind) will take the hit in return for processing customers faster. Time is money.
Given how badly I sign the UPS pad when picking up a delivery, I can't see these signatures as being usable.
I've seen companies working in this area for years too (my first company actually WORKED with this - for palm devices :-)) - my question was just about that product in specific and it's tie in to a proprietary hardware piece.
That, and you need better signature capture.