The first production-ready models of Commonwealth Bank's point of sale tablet device, Albert, have arrived in Australia.Currently undergoing PCI Security Standards Council certification, the device, first announced in July 2012, has taken much longer than expected to develop. Apart from what are described as a handful of "niggling" software issues, now being resolved, the device is close to market launch. The bank is yet to set a release date.Half-page advertisements running in the national press show how the Albert device could be deployed at the Adelaide Oval, suggesting key customers are already signing up.Developed in association with Wincor Nixdorf and Ideo, Albert is an integrated tablet-style device with a touchscreen and a secure EMV interface to accept chip and PIN cards, along with magnetic stripe and contactless payments. A receipt printer can be fixed to the device, which also features 3G and WiFi connectivity.As it gears up for Albert's launch, Commonwealth Bank has also opened its own app store, featuring applications based on the Pi software platform which runs on both Albert and Leo (the device which turns an iPhone 4 into a payments terminal). The store is intended as the heart of all of CBA's future point of sale systems. At present there are a handful of CBA developed applications plus three third-party apps (including a taxi payment app for Leo) in the app store.Andrew Cheesman, managing director of merchant solutions for CBA, said that the software development kit for Pi had been available to registered developers since January and more than 170 had signalled their intention to develop Pi software.Cheesman said that third-party applications would be carefully vetted before being loaded onto the bank's app store, with particular focus on the apps being secure, stable, and appropriate to the CBA brand.Meanwhile the uptake of the Leo system, which turns an iPhone 4 into a payments terminal, has been stymied somewhat by the release of the iPhone 5 which has different form factor. An updated version of Leo for newer iPhones and for Android is expected to be released by the bank, although again no date has been provided.