walmart

iPhone sold through Wal-Mart this month?

After rumors surfaced last week regarding a $99 iPhone sold through retail giant Wal-Mart, Bloomberg has apparently partially confirmed the speculation, citing "two store representatives saying the world's largest retailer will carry two models of the Web-surfing handset this month."

The store will reportedly start selling iPhones on December 15, just in time for the holidays. No mention of a $99 model was made, with store representatives allegedly confirming only 8GB and 16GB models and the standard $199 and $299 prices, respectively.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas.

Wal-Mart kicks off online Wii extravaganza

Discount retailer Wal-Mart on Monday announced that it has started to sell "tens of thousands" of Nintendo's Wii gaming console online. The 2-year-old gadget, consistently sold out and difficult to obtain, emerged as one of Black Friday's big hits amid a bleak economy.

On Friday night, the Wii was sold out on Wal-Mart's Web site as well as the Web sites of electronics retailers Best Buy and Circuit City, Reuters reported. On Monday morning, they were in stock.

Wal-Mart plans to sell the Wii consoles online for a price of $249.24 (Best Buy's … Read more

The future of music retail

Coolfer has an interesting post this morning, responding to Peter Kafka's suggestion that it's getting too hard to buy music because fewer retailers are stocking CDs. I think Kafka's confusing cause and effect--if retailers were still making lots of money on Britney and Rihanna, CDs would be sold front and center. But regardless of the chicken-and-egg question, Coolfer makes the very good point that most music purchasers don't seek out music and aren't willing to sift through the racks at their local record stores, but rather pick up a CD as an impulse buy on … Read more

Yes, Apple should sell a $99 iPhone

It's just a rumor at this point, but the usual anonymous tipsters have told the Boy Genius Report that Apple is planning to sell a $99 iPhone at Wal-Mart. There's been some debate about whether this would be a good idea for Apple. One financial analyst ran the numbers and believes that Apple would double or triple sales while still maintaining very healthy margins of more than 40 percent. Other onlookers have noted that Apple does not typically play the low-cost high-volume game; it certainly made fools of any suckers who believed the $800 laptop rumor.

I'll … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 865: Solidarity, my ape-hands brother

Tom and Jason have an ape-like bonding moment on today's show; Brian Tong calls "bull" on rumors of a $99 iPhone 3G; we find out that Google went right up against the DOJ deadline before it finally yelled "chicken" and walked away from its ad deal with Yahoo; Apple raises an awesome conspiracy theory in its Psystar lawsuit; and Monster Cable can just go straight to you-know-where. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 865

Listener co-host details: Email buzz@cnet.com with your name, phone number, preferred time of day (with time zone). We … Read more

The 404 238: Where our post-Thanksgiving contest totally backfired

No matter how organized, some plans just don't work out the way they're supposed to. And sometimes, they just plain blow up in your face. On today's show, we learn that lesson to its fullest extent. What was supposed to be a funny story-telling contest turned out to be so depressing that we almost can't go on...but we do. We persevere and get through it, but before you listen to today's show be sure to prepare yourself! Get a box of tissues and stay away from sharp objects, we're going to get through this together.

The first half of today's show is hilarious, perverted, and interesting all at the same time. We play a clip from The Simpsons and discuss the show's current state, explore Australia's newest Silver Surfer initiative, segue into how to show your carnal love to a kiosk, and reveal details on the new Nokia N97 smartphone. But after the break, it all plummets downhill, because we reveal some responses to ongoing contest to see who had the most depressing Thanksgiving. Surprise surprise, some of the most humbling stories we've ever heard, and it makes us that much more thankful for the beautiful things we have. Wilson actually tears up a bit, and Jeff can't help but singing a verse from "Kumbaya." I do neither of those things, and instead choose to go to the opposite route and take the show back to its standard level of insensitivity and inappropo. After that, we wrap it up with an even more upsetting story about how Tina Fey wound up with the scar on her face, and we must reiterate that it doesn't make her any less hilarious, talented, or gorgeous. Tee-bear, if you're reading this, hit me up, girl!

Episode 238 Download today's podcast … Read more

Retailers adopting renewable energy

Big-box retailers are increasingly adding solar panels and wind turbines to sprawling stores to offset rising electricity costs and groom a "green" image.

Last week, Wal-Mart Stores announced it will add wind power to 360 Texas outlets. The company aims to power all stores with renewables eventually. So far, the retailer counting the largest amount of photovoltaics is Wisconsin-based Kohl's. Whole Foods is likely the first big name to add solar panels, starting in 2002 in Berkeley, Calif.

In the latest sign of government support for such efforts, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick called last week for all … Read more

eMachines desktop computer takes a nosedive

We normally don't give budget desktop computers less than a three-star rating, mostly because the majority of them contain similar components, so it comes down to a question of pricing and overall value. Unfortunately, the eMachines EL1200-05w just doesn't make the grade and successfully garners one of the lowest ratings we've given to a budget system in a long time.

The problems begin with a subpar collection of internal components. The $298 price tag nets you a single-core 1.6GHz AMD processor, a measly 1GB of RAM, and Windows XP. Chances are, if you're shopping for … Read more

Dear Steve Jobs: Set the music free

To: Apple CEO Steve Jobs From: Greg Sandoval, CNET News Re: Acquiring DRM-free music

The iTunes music library is looking a little shabby these days. Look around, Steve: iTunes is the last great refuge of DRM-laden downloads. Is this the image you want for Apple?

More than 18 months have passed since you signed your one and only deal to acquire music free of copy-protection software with a major recording company. And that was with EMI, which accounts for less than 9 percent of U.S. album sales and is the smallest of the four top music labels. In the … Read more