Confirmed: iPhone 3G coming to Wal-Mart on December 28th, select Sam’s Club stores as well
Shortly after we posted about the iPhone coming to Wal-Mart this morning, it seemed like all of our ninjas came out of the woodwork to bombard us with info. Rather than post an update, we want to lay out what is now confirmed info. First and foremost, it looks like Wal-Mart will indeed begin selling the iPhone 3G on December 28th in select locations only. When all is said and done, about 2,500 locations will offer the iPhone 3G. Some stores will also be getting live demo units to display just like Best Buy Mobile. What’s more, we’re also now getting word that 69 Sam’s Club locations (locations that use the Wal-Mart ordering system, not the Radio Shack ordering system) will offer the handset as well – also beginning on the 28th. As Sam’s Club is a division of Wal-Mart, this certainly makes sense. Unfortunately it looks like everyone is still in the dark with regards to pricing and we expect it to stay that way to avoid slowing MSRP iPhone sales during the holidays. Won’t people be happy when they find out Apple’s handsets popped up at discount prices three short days after Christmas? Hit the jump for some internal Wal-Mart correspondence.
We are pleased to announce that Wal-Mart has reached agreement with Apple to offer iPhone 3G in Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart-managed Sam’s Club* Connection Centers nationwide beginning December 28, 2008. AT&T will support Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club with the activation process for iPhone 3G, and we need all National Retail employees engaged to ensure a successful launch.
*NOTE: This product launch DOES NOT apply to SC Kiosks within Sam’s Club managed by Radio Shack.
Wal-Mart has communicated the following launch plans and execution timeline to their employees:
- iPhone 3G will be available in-store only beginning 12/28/08
- New and existing customers in good standing can purchase iPhone 3G with a 2 year contract
- iPhone 3G transactions only will be processed through POS.com, not the kiosk
Execution Timeline:
- 12/2 – 12/5: AT&T / Wal-Mart MEM Classroom Training for Store Leads
- 12/3 – 12/19: AT&T In-Store Training
- 12/26 – 12/27: AT&T In-Store Refresher Training
- 12/28: Nationwide Launch
- 12/28 – 12/30: Wal-Mart and AT&T War Room Support
Is there anything they can’t get their paws on?
IPhone? They still make those things? ; )
iPhone?? What is this, summer of 2007???? Its all about the Storm now. Cmon BG, hurry up with that bashing…..I mean review….of the storm youve had for a couple days already.
Looks like BG got a copy of the internal ATT communication….those ninja’s are pretty handy
This was the first time in a while that ATT beat BG to the punch.
Not sure why anyone cares?
Not a big iphone fan and yes I know they sold like 12 billion of them but Im bored of it. I want to see a new iphone with a new form factor
Will Apple ever offer an unlocked iPhone in the USA?
great! now when is it going to be verizon’s turn to get a hold of the iphone?
been waiting for so long now.
http://www.thewht.com
This is fucking bullshit!! Steve jobs doesnt trust reatailers with this phone but is willing to let some fuckhead with a 6th grade education activate and sell it. What a great idea. 95% of these people probably have no clue what the hell 3G is. Since the iphone launch, my store has struggled because we with almost any retailer aren’t allowed to carry it. Fuck you steve jobs!
Well, the iphone is a toy. Isn’t it an ipod touch with a cell module? I wouldn’t be caught dead holding an mp3 player, i mean phone to my ear and talk to someone. I’d feel like I was in high school.
Is there really any advantage to selling iPhones in WalMart? Is the average WalMart shopper an iPhone type of user. People go to WalMart for bargains and not particularly all that interested in quality. WalMart has a nice selection of PAYG handsets that seem to sell well. I doubt if people go there to pay iPhone money. I personally hope that Apple stays with selling iPhones from AT&T and Apple Stores. Apple Stores especially, so that they stay “packed.”
Yeh, I also want an iPhone with a new form factor that includes an 8 hour use battery and a higher megapixel camera.
Cory Said:
> This is fucking bullshit!! Steve jobs doesnt trust reatailers
> with this phone but is willing to let some fuckhead with a
> 6th grade education activate and sell it.
Absolutely agreed. A good bit of consumer confidence in the product and associated services/plans lie with the agent selling them the product. I know there certainly are some educated Walmart associates who know what they’re doing, but that’s not typical. I’d be willing to bet that the return rate at Walmarts will be far in excess of what it averages through other channels.
Walmart also sells iPods, so it makes sense for them to sell the iPhone too.
Now if they could have pre-paid service for iPhones, that would be something.
Well. There goes the neighborhood….
What will that have WalMart employees selling next. Mercedes? Fine diamonds?
Stick with the pro’s at Apple. The AT&T retail stores are okay if there is not an Apple store around. I still don’t like dealing with resellers. I bought a Bold from them a couple of weeks ago and returned it. The guy doing the return was giving me stink eye the whole time, like I’d just f’ckd his sister and now he was going to have to do an honor killing.
Does anyone know why AT&T authorized retailers still aren’t allowed to sell the iphone? WTF? Now they are going to let Walmart get it while the small independants that only sell cell phones can’t. Fvck you Apple
I don’t know about the Walmart situation, but I work at Sam’s Club and the people we hire are not your typical “out of highschool fuckjobs”. They have pretty high standards for new hires and start out at $9 an hour for cashiering. I work at our connection center here and get asked all time time when we’ll be getting the iPhone, now I have an answer for them. Oh, and to this day, I have not seen a Sam’s Club member come in in sweatpants or arrive with open sores on their skin, so, we have that against Walmart.
*yawn*
Bold FTK.
C.
Well, as someone else pointed out in the comments of the original posting about this…AT&T agents will be up in arms over this move, thus pressuring AT&T to let them sell the iPhone.
As much as the iPhone is over hyped (my personal opinion), it’s a huge seller and it will leverage several new sales into all authorized retail lovations.
And the iPhone bashing continues…. HAHAHA
Bash away as Apple sells another 12 million!
the answer is simple to the question on other retailers getting the iPhone…Apple is very particular about how they market their products. I would bet that only the newer looking Radio Shacks will get the product. Think about it, would you want your premier product placed in a location that may not have the visibility of a Best Buy or WalMart…or has the look of a Best Buy or WalMart (electronics Department)
Classic….Verizon couldn’t market the iphone they would require a data plan. LMAO.
Big ups to Walmart and Sam’s club. No more eliteness. Now your all just everday Joe Plumber cracks.
@well…
While yes, you are correct that the iPhone is an ipod touch with out the cell module. However, the iPhone did come out before the ipod touch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod_Touch
And I’m pretty sure there aren’t many high school kids with these, unless their parents paid for it or they acually have a decent job
Im sure there are many high school kids with these..
I wouldn’t be caught dead buying a phone that couldn’t play MP3s, surf real web pages, have a 3″ hi-res screen, let me watch videos/movies, auto sync w/ my Exchange account, send photos or create online galleries, Google search via voice entry, play games using motion detection, search for places using location ID & then provide contact info, do online banking, log onto my Facebook, get up-to-minute weather reports, check instant news/sports/financial info, have ambient sound timers, create audio/visual art, tell me the name of songs I hear around me, play radio stations, watch YouTube videos, check on my eBay auctions, store & view work files, remote control my computer/TV, use as a flashlight, get instant medical emergency information, track my cardio rate while running, etc., and is a quality made, durable device.
Do you get the point, “well…”? Buy the phone and try it to know what it really is, otherwise, calling it a “toy” just sounds like you’re ignorant.
/
I’m an aurthorized retailer in a town where we are the only att store around. And we have a wal-mart. We are constantly dealing with customers who get the $18.88 Blackberry then come in to my store when their bill is fucked up like att did it. So this is going to do nothing except increase churn (in my town at least) on a 3g phone in a non 3g area. I’ll keep doing what I have been, and tell un happy wal-mart customers to return their equipment to wal-mart, come see me in a few days and get them the right phone for what they need.
I think it is a good fit. And reflects Apples primary market for this device.
The relatively gullible cattle who swallow apples crazy marketing, and lock in tactics, also shop at WalMart. Most of these people likely don’t do research into product, and buy based on hype and appearance rather than specs. Apple wins at the style over substance game.
Good move and I bet Apple sells a ton through that channel.