Wal-Mart + Apple: Bringing flash to the masses

January 13, 2009

An jaw-dropping post on Fierce Wireless made us do a double take. Is the big box store to beat all box stores, Wal-Mart, really selling the smart phone that is redefining smart phones, Apple’s iPhone 3G?

The answer appears to be a resounding yes. Sold in-store only, according to Wal-Mart’s website, the iPhone is above the pre-holiday rumored $99 price, ranging from $197-$297, in 8 and 16 gigs, with the standard 2-year AT&T contract. Now, how are consumers to find the wanton treasure? With a 51-page, downloadable pdf treasure map, a list of Wal-Mart store locations where the iPhone is sold.

Three days after Christmas, another instance of Steve Jobs’ mysterious retail strategies, the iPhone went on sale at select Wal-mart and Sam’s Club locations, representing the fourth major expansion of the iPhone outside Apple’s 200 retail stores. Yes AT&T’s 2,000 stores and Best Buy’s 1,000 stores got it first. But with Wal-Mart as the world’s largest retail chain at more than 7,000 mega-stores strong, 2.1 million employees, finishing its last fiscal year with $380 billion in sales and ranking No. 1 in the Fortune 500, this could prove a watershed movement for the iPhone.

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Posted By Russ · In Industry 

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