wal-mart

Wal-Mart to sell T-Mobile G1 at a lower price

If you're thinking of buying a T-Mobile G1, you might want to run to the nearest Wal-Mart instead of a T-Mobile store. According to CNNMoney.com, Wal-Mart will sell the first Google Android smartphone in 550 stores nationwide starting Wednesday and for a lower price.

T-Mobile currently sells the G1 for $179.99 with a two-year contract, but Wal-Mart will offer the device for $148.88 to new customers or current subscribers who are eligible for an upgrade. You'll, of course, still have to commit to a two-year service agreement.

Buzz Out Loud 828: Things change, suck it!

Financial markets will collapse, venture capitalists will cause a run on start-ups that will lead to even more financial collapses, companies that try to disable their DRM servers will inevitably reverse that bad decision, and Web redesigns will happen and you can't opt out of them. Live with it. We're jerks today. It's Friday. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 828

An ignoble but much needed end to Web 2.0, marked by a party in Cyprus http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/10/an-ignoble-but-much-needed-end-to-web-20/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10063178-93.html

Sequoia Capital's 56 slide … Read more

Wal-Mart reversal teaches us the masses have might

The masses have spoken.

And Wal-Mart Stores, the nation's largest retailing chain, retreated from a misdirected and unfair policy. Last month, the company informed customers who bought its DRM-wrapped music that it would no longer issue keys to unlock songs. That meant music buyers would no longer be able to move their libraries to new computers or players. On Thursday, the company reversed that decision and said it would continue to issue keys for "the present time," according to Ravi Jariwala, a Walmart.com spokesman.

OK, let's tally these up. By my count this makes the … Read more

Wal-Mart reverses policy on DRM?

New reports say Wal-Mart may have reversed its policy on digital rights management, and will keep servers online for the near future.

Wal-Mart had sent an e-mail to consumers last month that, starting October 9, it would no longer assist with digital rights management issues for protected files purchased from Walmart.com.

That means that anyone who had those music files would still be able to access them on the devices or computers they reside on, but wouldn't be able to transfer them to new devices.

Yahoo and Microsoft had announced similar plans when shuttering their DRM programs, but … Read more

How long before Wal-Mart reverses DRM decision?

Wal-Mart's decision to stop supporting the DRM swaddling its music reminds me of this parable: A father and son are herding cows one day. While climbing a narrow mountain road, the herd comes to a place where the path is washed out. In a single file line, each of the cows follows the one ahead of it and plunges to its death.

"Whenever we're herding cows," the father tells the boy, "be sure to remind me that they're just like people."

For some reason, Wal-Mart has decided to stop issuing keys for its … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 810: A Big Mac or a Zune?

If both of them get you free Wi-Fi, which one would you rather have? Also in the news today, Google's Street View team doesn't care for a little turnabout, the patent process gets smarter thanks to the Web, and IMDB is now delivering movies and TV. Yeah, really. Maybe we're the only ones who thought it was weird. With special guest, Leo Laporte!

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 810

IMDb now serves full-length videos http://news.cnet.com/8301-13515_3-10042280-26.html

Everyone but Apple joins new 'buy once, play anywhere' group http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080915-everyone-but-apple-joins-new-buy-once-play-anywhere-group.html… Read more

Sam's Club stores highlight solar power

Urban planners, labor activists, and environmentalists blame Wal-Mart for decimating rural America, exploiting workers, and polluting ecosystems. Some green-business gurus, on the other hand, praise the retail colossus for turning over a new leaf with moves toward sustainability, such as reducing product packaging.

Wal-Mart's latest green turn comes as nine of its Sam's Club stores in Southern California are providing in-store solar power kiosks. Shoppers can look up information about home rooftop installations and get discounts meant to average $500 on solar orders.

Sam's Club will offer the deals through photovoltaic panel installer Borrego Solar of San … Read more

Apple holds on to U.S. retail music lead

Apple is still the No. 1 music retailer in the United States, but Amazon.com's online store is coming on strong.

More U.S. music buyers are getting their music fix through iTunes than from any other source, according to data released on Tuesday by NPD Group. Earlier this year, Apple took over the top spot from Wal-Mart Stores, and it maintained that lead during the six months from January to June, NPD said.

Wal-Mart is still in second place, followed by Best Buy. Taking fourth place from Target was Amazon, whose own music store has been growing in … Read more

Sam's Club hires its own squad of geeks

If you're going to be serious about electronics retail in the U.S., it looks like you have to be serious about employing professional geeks.

Beginning Saturday, 20 Sam's Club stores in Virginia and Maryland will offer tech support from PC repair services company Geeks on Call as part of a pilot program set to last three months. Sam's Club has 394 stores in the U.S. with several similar pilots running right now, according to a company spokesperson, who declined to elaborate.

Just last week, parent company Wal-Mart announced it would offer Dell-branded PC repair kiosks … Read more

Wal-Mart taps Dell for its own 'geek squad'

Already the biggest seller by volume of electronics in the U.S., some Wal-Mart stores are now trying their hand at tech support.

Starting this month in 15 stores around Dallas only, employees manning a new kiosk concept called Solutions Station by Dell will be available to do TV and home theater installations, PC repair, wireless network setup, and probably some other tech-related stuff too.

Dell and Wal-Mart have a pretty cozy relationship--Dell picked Wal-Mart as the first place to sell its PCs when the company started selling retail again last year--so the pairing isn't so surprising.

And this … Read more