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Posts with tag wal-mart

Wal-Mart Throws in $100 Gift Card with Blu-ray Player Purchase

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 4th 2008 at 9:26AM

Given that $100 at Wal-mart is essentially as good as cash, we can only imagine how titillating this offer may seem for Blu-ray holdouts. Announced today, the mega-retailer will be offering a $100 gift card with the purchase of any Blu-ray player from June 8th through 14th -- and yes, Sony's PlayStation 3 is included.

IIn case this wasn't enough to maybe-possibly get the general public to actually pay attention to the format, Wally World will also sell "select" BD titles for $15 starting on the 8th. Since the format war ended earlier this year, we've seen report after report proclaiming that Blu-ray adoption just wasn't taking off here in America, but with a theoretical net price now close to $200 (albeit for a few days only), we can certainly see the masses taking notice at long last. [Source: Reuters]

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Wal-Mart Fined $1 Million for Improperly Selling Non-Digital TVs

by Tim Stevens, posted Apr 11th 2008 at 11:24PM

It's a digital age, that's for sure, and in February of next year, one of the last bastions of analog, over-the-air television, will go entirely to 1s and 0s. If you have an old TV still kicking around, you can get a converter box, but according to FCC rules, retailers are no longer allowed to sell new, non-digital televisions without some rather prominent warnings.

Faced with stockrooms full of the things it's no surprise that some retailers have been caught bending the rules a bit, with Wal-Mart being one of the worst offender, picking up a $992,000 fine.

The mega-retailer was far from the only one. Sears was hit with a $1.1 million fine and Circuit City for $712,000, while Best Buy got off relatively lightly with only a $280,000 fine. All that for apparently trying to clear out their inventory of old sets without warning shoppers about their imminent obsolescence.

No word yet on whether the fines will be paid to those shoppers who didn't get the info they were supposed to receive (unlikely), but if you were one of those unwitting buyers don't fear: The coupons the government is handing out for converter boxes should mean upgrading your set won't cost you too much.

From Reuters

For Sale: Videos of Wal-Mart Execs In Drag

by Peter Mychalcewycz, posted Apr 10th 2008 at 7:04PM

Wal-Mart is not happy.

Flagler Productions Inc., a production company hired by Wal-Mart in the 1970s to film company events, has begun selling the videos to, well, whoever wants them. The videos, of which there are thousands, contain everything from company executives dressing in drag to, let's say, less than pleasant rants on the merits of organized labor.

The videos are of particular interest to attorneys involved in the lawsuit against Wal-Mart on behalf of 1.6 million women that claim widespread sexual discrimination. One video shows the founder of Wal-Mart, Ed Walton, admitting that efforts to train and promote women had been unsatisfactory at best.

In a statement to ABC News, Wal-Mart responded to this banana-hammockery in a eerily calm manner with the following:

"Needless to say, we did not pay Flagler Productions to tape internal meetings with this aftermarket in mind. It's definitely an unusual business model on their end, and we can't imagine too many other clients will be eager to pay for this service."

Creepy.

We are not fooled by the soothing tone of this politically correct statement and fully expect every employee of Flagler Productions to be utterly destitute within the next 48 hours.

From ABC

Wal-Mart's "Green" $199 PC Gets De-Shelved

by Tim Stevens, posted Mar 11th 2008 at 4:16PM

Last year Wal-Mart tried a little "experiment," selling a low-spec desktop computer for the bargain basement price of just $199. The company thought the price would be enough for customers to overlook the dearth of features and performance, and it apparently was enough for the 600-store allotment made to stores to sell out. However, despite this modest success, the company has decided to stop stocking the boxes in stores.

The gPC from Everex (makers of the similarly cheap Cloudbook laptop) was so cheap partly because it did not ship with a copy of Microsoft's Windows operating system, instead relying on the free Linux OS. This made the machines somewhat unfamiliar to novice computer users, most of whom are familiar with Windows or Apple's Mac OS.

Still, if you don't mind Linux and you're in the market for a bargain desktop, you can still get the supposedly improved gPC2 via the Wal-Mart Web site, still for just $199. However, since the specs of this model are exactly the same of the former gPC, we're not sure why the "2" here is warranted.

From Engadget and AOL Money & Finance

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Wal-Mart Quietly Launches Buyer Blog

by Tim Stevens, posted Mar 4th 2008 at 9:20AM

Corporate buyers are the generally unknown people who have a huge impact on what you buy. They're the ones who decide which products wind up on store shelves and which ones find themselves sold at heavy discount on woot.com. Buyers don't tend to talk too much about what they think about the products they purchase, at least not in public, and, as a company, Wal-Mart would prefer to give presentations on cost-cutting shipping methods than divulge just how it goes about selecting which products to stock. Curious, then, that it would create a blog where its buyers are ostensibly allowed and encouraged to rant or rave about, well, just about everything. And yet, that's just what Wal-Mart has done.

The blog, called Check Out, has a multiple entries covering a number of products. A (very) few of the posts are vaguely critical about products that Wal-Mart or its membership-only warehouse spin-off Sam's Club sell, but a quick scan through the pages of the blog reveals that the overwhelming majority are exactly what you'd expect from a blog run by Wal-Mart and filled with posts from Wal-Mart employees. There are posts stating that "Wal-Mart has become the destination for all things Hannah" (speaking of course about Hannah Montana), a post raving about the "just too cool!" Apple TV (available at Sam's Club), and one talking about the current iteration of the Elmo craze and which other toys are equally hot right now.

So, is this an unbiased collection of rants and raves from unfiltered employees or just another marketing tool? We wouldn't go so far as to say the whole thing exists only as a thinly veiled sales scheme for the retailer, but it sure reads like one. Regardless, it's getting a somewhat better reception than their attempt at Facebook marketing.

From NY Times

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Wal-Mart Sides With Blu-ray

by Thomas Houston , posted Feb 15th 2008 at 6:16PM

It's been a rough week for HD-DVD, Toshiba's high-definition video format, and things are starting to look even worse. Sony Corporation's Blu-ray format, supported by heavyweights 20th Century Fox, Sony, and Walt-Disney, won important allies this week: Best Buy announced it would start recommending Blu-ray over HD-DVD to its customers, Netflix completely dropped HD-DVD in favor of Blu-ray, and now Wal-Mart is making a move to potentially end the format wars once and for all.

Wal-Mart, one of the world's leading retailers of movies, announced today that it would sell exclusively Blu-ray movies and hardware (though it will continue selling standard-definition DVDs), beginning in June. As we announced earlier, anonymous sources are suggesting that Toshiba may be halting production of HD-DVD players in the coming weeks.

In light of these recent announcements, Blu-ray may have won the format war, which will come as a relief to many consumers waiting for it to be over before purchasing a next-generation video player.

From Check Out

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Wal-Mart Tells Music Labels to Offer DRM-Free Music 'Or Else'

by Tim Stevens, posted Dec 3rd 2007 at 11:35AM

DRM is hated by those who legitimately purchase music, and now Wal-Mart is jumping on the bandwagon. They have asked record labels that sell music through its online store to ditch the stuff.

An abbreviation for Digital Rights Management, DRM is software created to restrict what you can do with music and movie downloads. It's the stuff that keeps you from copying music and movies from one computer to the next while limiting burning to CD or loading to a portable music player. If you legitimately paid for the content, DRM is nothing but annoying.

EMI started the DRM-free trend among the major labels this past spring, offering its restriction-free tracks for download through a number of sources. Individual artists like Radiohead and Paul McCartney have ditched DRM, but many major labels like Warner Music Group and Sony BMG have held out, requiring that their music sold online be protected. They are the ones being called out by Wal-Mart, who has asked them to make protection-free tracks available in 2008 "or else".

The "or else" part is undefined at this point, but when a retailer with the clout of Wal-Mart asks for something, it tends to get what it wants. We'll be keeping an eye on this going forward and hoping for the best.

From Boing Boing

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Best Buy's $200 Black Friday PC and Other Cheap Computers

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Nov 12th 2007 at 3:25PM

Shopping on Black Friday requires a certain amount of masochism -- struggling through the crowds, punching mothers in front of their children to get that cheap plasma TV -- it's dangerous business.

If you decide to brave the battlefield at Best Buy this year, you'll be rewarded with an opportunity to grab an eMachines PC with a 17 inch LCD monitor for the super low price of $200. Don't expect the world though. The PC is rumored to be powered by an Intel Celeron running at 2.66 Ghz (meaning no efficient and powerful 'Core' for you), comes with 512 megabytes of RAM (which is the bare minimum for doing just about anything on a computer these days), has a measly 80 Gigabyte hard drive, and it has no DVD burner.

Don't get us wrong -- $200 is still a heck of a price, but you could get so much more, or at least more interesting for a tad more cash. For instance, Wal-Mart is selling their own $200 PC without monitor. The gPC, as it's called, runs Linux instead of the resource-hungry Vista and uses an ultra low-power (and carbon-neutral) processor from Via. Or, how about the diminutive and cheap Eee from Asus which is also powered by Linux (noticing a trend here?). Priced from $200 to $400, these little laptops let you get all your basic computing tasks done by focusing on web applications.

Or, if you're in the market for something truly different, head on over to Laptop.org and you can get yourself one of the OLPC XOs (also Linux powered). These tiny, innovative convertible laptops are meant for kids in developing nations, but for a limited time you can order one for yourself as long as you're willing to pay for two. The second one gets sent to a child in the third world on your dime. In that case, $400 gets you a technological marvel, a piece of history, and a warm, fuzzy feeling.

From Engadget

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Wal-Mart Gets $200 "Green" PC

by Tim Stevens, posted Nov 1st 2007 at 7:17PM

Of all the retailers out there, Wal-Mart probably wouldn't rate high on environmentalists' lists of green retailers. But,that's where you're going to have to go if you want to get your hands on a new self-titled "green" PC that will cost just $199.

The Everex TC2502 gPC is a low-powered and limited-spec desktop computer that runs a version of Linux called Ubuntu rather than the much more popular Windows or Mac operating system. Ubuntu is a free operating system that looks and feels much like the competition, but doesn't offer the compatibility that even a Macintosh can offer to the ubiquitous Windows PC.

Linux has gained a lot of popularity over the past few years, finding itself installed in all sorts of devices. And, there are software applications out there for the operating system that will do everything you can do on a PC, including opening and reading files from most of the applications in Microsoft's Office suite. However, Office itself is not available, nor are most games. But given the seriously lightweight nature of the specs for this machine, you'd be hard-pressed to get any modern games to run anyway.

Those lightweight specs lead to reduced power consumption -- hence the "g" in the gPC name -- which is obviously aimed at the eco-mindful consumer.

As Engadget points out, however, this computer is rather wasteful in other regards. Internally, the system uses miniaturized components to help reduce power consumption and cost, but ironically the manufacturer throws them all into a big, plastic, non-biodegradeable full-sized case. Apparently this is due to Wal-Mart research that indicates its customers consider a larger PC to be a more powerful one, a notion that will make smart shoppers everywhere shake their heads.

From Wired and Engadget

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HD-DVD Players Drop to $100, For One Day

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Nov 1st 2007 at 12:17PM

HD-DVD Player Available for $100, This Friday

No that photo is not doctored. The Toshiba HD-A2 that we reported just a few short days ago had dropped to $200 is being marked down even further at select Wal-Mart stores. Check here to see if the sale is coming to a store near you. The sale is this Friday (tomorrow) only.

Price-wise, Blu-ray's back is against the wall at this point. The fight for HD supremacy is far from over, but with the cheapest Blu-ray players coming in at almost $400, HD-DVD has scored a clear victory just in time for the holidays.

From Engadget

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Beyonce's 'B Phone' for Sprint

by Ryan Rayhill, posted Oct 15th 2007 at 9:29AM

America loves Beyonce. This is a stone-cold fact -- a bewildering fact, but a fact nonetheless. And Sprint's faith in the country's love for Beyonce and anything associated with the R&B singer and Dreamgirls star became evident last week when the 'B Phone' by Samsung was unveiled.

Available November 4th at a Sprint store or a Wal-Mart near you, this special edition Upstage phone features a dual-face handset, includes a digital power amp that significantly improves sound quality, Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and speedy PC syncing software.

Naturally, the 'B Phone' is loaded with Beyonce-related material and will allow owners to download content such as an "exclusive" Beyonce photo gallery and a song she sang when she was 10-years old (sure, why not?) directly from Sprint.com.

While we can't imagine owning the burgundy and gold-colored device ourselves, we imagine teenage girls everywhere will find the 'B Phone' irresistible.

From Geeksugar

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Ex-Ramone Sues Apple and Wal-Mart

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Sep 24th 2007 at 6:41PM

Richard Reinhardt, or, as he's more commonly known, Richie Ramone, is suing just about every company under the sun that offers digital music downloads, including Apple, Real Networks, and Wal-Mart. The former drummer of the seminal 1970s-1980s punk band The Ramones is even going after the estate of Johnny Ramone, the band's late lead guitarist.

What's Reinhardt's beef? According to reports, the suit claims that was no agreement for the digital distribution of the six songs Reinhardt wrote as a member of the Ramones. The songs in question are "Smash You," Human Kind," "I'm Not Jesus," "I Know Better Now," "Somebody Put Something In My Drink," and "(You) Can't Say Something Nice."

Over the four years and three albums, none of the six songs Reinhardt wrote were singles, and yet the guy is demanding $900,000 in back royalties and an injunction against future distribution of his work. Is he out of line? Given the rising stock of Apple and its ilk, we say good for Reinhardt!

From Beta News and AOL Music.

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Wal-Mart Trashed on Facebook

by Tim Stevens, posted Aug 27th 2007 at 9:36AM

We credit Wal-Mart for trying to be relevant -- the mega-retailer recently set up a Facebook page and group to help college students design the ultimate dorm room -- but we don't give it too much credit in the foresight department.

Unsurprisingly, the retailer's foray into the world of Facebook has invited a flurry of negative comments from students, killing off any positive advertising the company could have received from the initiative and instead turning it into a venue for complaints about everything from Wal-Mart's labor practices to the quality of its products.

As of now, 209 posts have been made to the "wall" on Wal-Mart's "Roommate Style Match" Facebook group, and only few are positive. But it's not just the posts that are negative -- visitors to the group will also find photos from Wal-Mart protests, graffiti that turns the company's trademark smiling face into the Reaper, and other parodies of the company's advertising tag-line of "Always low prices. Always" with things like "Low Wages, Low Morals. Always."

Despite all the commotion, most analysts, bloggers, and other pundits think Wal-Mart should stay in the Web 2.0 game, as this article in Computerworld reveals.

Targeted online advertising may be booming, but even seemingly useful and innocent ads can turn into negative publicity if they rubs certain niche audiences the wrong way, as this latest Wal-Mart online brouhaha reveals.

From Slashdot and Computerworld

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Wal-Mart's New Downloads Play On iPods, Zunes, Cell Phones and More

by Tom Samiljan, posted Aug 21st 2007 at 4:21PM

Wal-Mart is the latest store to jump into the DRM-free music sales game, offering the same digital-rights-management-free tracks from EMI and Universal that are sold through the iTunes Plus, Yahoo! Music Unlimited, and other online music stores. (DRM is a system of adding a small amount of data to an audio file, which puts draconian limitations on copying, burning, and playback of the material -- essentially this means you can't play your purchased music on more than one kind of portable player.)

The giant retailer's latest move means that, say, tracks by Norah Jones, Keith Urban, Barrio Fino, Amy Winehouse (pictured), or Bon Jovi, among other EMI and Universal acts, will be playable on everything from iPods, iPhones and BlackBerrys to Zunes, Windows Mobile Smart Phones, and most music cell phones.

What's more, these tunes will only cost $ .94 cents a track (or $9.22 per album), a full 35 cents less than the $1.29 iTunes is charging for its DRM-free tunes. The difference is Wal-Mart's tunes will be in the MP3 format, which plays on pretty much every audio player in existence, while Apple's iTunes Plus tracks are in the AAC format, which is of slightly higher audio quality (but plays on a smaller number of players).

In what is definitely a sign of the music industry's desperation, these easy-to-copy-and-pirate tunes are being virtually given away. The idea is this -- people who are nice law-abiding citizens or who just don't feel like dealing with the Wild West of illegal-file-sharing sites will flock to these attractively-priced, unshackled tracks.

For a full explanation on how DRM-free tunes work and where you can find and purchase these tunes, check out USA Today's newsy primer on the subject.

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Wal-Mart Woos College Kids with Facebook

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Aug 14th 2007 at 4:14PM

Wal-Mart is now targeting college students via the quickly expanding Facebook social networking site. Wal-Mart has created the "Roommate Style Match" group on Facebook and plans to keep the app operating through October 31st.

The application asks users a series of questions about taste and style in addition to goals for college and their personal space. The quiz then provides a general style type (such as Free Spirit, or Late Nighter) and ties that to recommendations for specific items at the Wal-Mart store.

College students spend a significant amount of their income on dorm room decor and electronics, an average of $1,112.62 for a freshman. Wal-Mart is using Facebook and earth-friendly initiatives to more aggressively market to that audience, one usually more wooed by the less-scandal-plagued and more metropolitan Target.

From USA Today

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Wal-Mart Throws in $100 Gift Card with Blu-ray Player Purchase

Wal-Mart Fined $1 Million for Improperly Selling Non-Digital TVs

For Sale: Videos of Wal-Mart Execs In Drag

Wal-Mart's "Green" $199 PC Gets De-Shelved

Wal-Mart Quietly Launches Buyer Blog

Wal-Mart Sides With Blu-ray

Wal-Mart Tells Music Labels to Offer DRM-Free Music 'Or Else'

Best Buy's $200 Black Friday PC and Other Cheap Computers

Wal-Mart Gets $200 "Green" PC

HD-DVD Players Drop to $100, For One Day

Beyonce's 'B Phone' for Sprint

Ex-Ramone Sues Apple and Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Trashed on Facebook

Wal-Mart's New Downloads Play On iPods, Zunes, Cell Phones and More

Wal-Mart Woos College Kids with Facebook

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