macnn
11/18/2008, 3:00pm, EST
Tuesday, November 18th
iPhone misses Walmart date, may hit in December
The iPhone is not yet in Walmart stores, but may ship to them in December, new accounts claim. Although sources had suggested that Walmart could carry the iPhone as soon as November 15th, that date has since passed without any indication of a near-future release. New reports indicate that the launch may have been delayed, and will instead happen towards the end of December, possibly after Christmas. Managers at Walmart stores are said to have been informed of plans, in part through a memo revealing the new timeframe. A number of low-level workers may also be aware of plans.
Inclusion of Walmart in the iPhone distribution chain could be extremely beneficial to Apple, as the former has over 3,500 stores in the US, almost three times the reach of even AT&T, which has approximately 1,200 locations. Apple has also clearly indicated a desire to expand to third-party vendors, having moved the iPhone into Best Buy stores earlier this year.
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Walmart should clear out
the iPhone inventory glut. Apple must have a lot of iPhones collecting cobwebs in warehouses. At least Walmart will put them on display and attract some interest. Not that I would think many Walmart shoppers would be looking to purchase iPhones.
iPods
They sell quite a few iPods, I would think the iPhone may do well there. However, I refuse to set foot in one of there stores!
My question is why I can't get them from my local specialist? That's the only place I shop. Doesn't make sense.
Contract free?
Here's my question... Can I use a walmart gift card to purchase an iPhone thus circumventing the charge for not signing up and activating it with AT&T??
iPods
there = their oops!
Re: contract free
I'm sure you could use a gift card. But you're not going to be able to get out of a contract if you plan on buying it for the low subsidized price of $199.