Walmart demonstrates epic flower power with 14.5-inch Garden Dreams Pavilion dv5

Struggling to decide how on Earth you’ll fit a gargantuan 15-inch laptop into your life, while simultaneously trying to imagine using something as minuscule as a 14-incher? Great news, vaquero! HP’s splitting the difference (and hairs, if we’re being honest) with its 14.5-inch Pavilion dv5-2129wm Special Edition, a vivacious new machine that has just popped up at Wally World. Powered entirely by flora, this ‘Garden Dreams’ laptop packs a BrightView LED-backlit display, AMD’s Turion II P540 CPU (2.4GHz), 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 500GB hard drive, 8x SuperMulti DVD burner, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, ATI’s Mobility Radeon HD 4250 graphics, an inbuilt webcam 5-in-1 card reader, three USB 2.0 sockets, HDMI / VGA outputs and a six-cell Li-ion battery. It’s available there in the source link for $598, and somehow or another, we suspect Ma Earth is urging you to do the right thing.

Walmart demonstrates epic flower power with 14.5-inch Garden Dreams Pavilion dv5 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 07:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Barnes & Noble Nook goes on sale at Walmart next week (update: Kobo, too)

We still don’t know what Barnes & Noble is announcing at its “very special event” next week, but the company has just made another fairly big announcement: the Nook will be hitting the shelves at some 2,500 Walmart stores beginning “as soon as” October 24th (in addition to Walmart’s online store). That includes both the 3G and WiFi-only Nook models, and some Walmart stores will even have a “Nook-branded eReading area” where customers can try out the device. Head on past the break for the complete press release.

Update: Not to be outdone, Borders will release the Kobo e-reader at Walmart next week as well. Competing devices on the very same shelf — imagine that!

Continue reading Barnes & Noble Nook goes on sale at Walmart next week (update: Kobo, too)

Barnes & Noble Nook goes on sale at Walmart next week (update: Kobo, too) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Barnes & Noble Nook goes on sale at Walmart next week

We still don’t know what Barnes & Noble is announcing at its “very special event” next week, but the company has just made another fairly big announcement: the Nook will be hitting the shelves at some 2,500 Walmart stores beginning “as soon as” October 24th (in addition to Walmart’s online store). That includes both the 3G and WiFi-only Nook models, and some Walmart stores will even have a “Nook-branded eReading area” where customers can try out the device. Head on past the break for the complete press release.

Continue reading Barnes & Noble Nook goes on sale at Walmart next week

Barnes & Noble Nook goes on sale at Walmart next week originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DJ Hero 2 now available for purchase, Beck still wondering about royalty checks

You seriously can’t make this stuff up — in what can only be assumed is a nod to the one and only Beck, Activision actually is shipping two turntables and a microphone with DJ Hero 2. And that bundle is finally on sale starting today. We’d heard earlier in the year that the company was aiming for a fall release, and sure enough, consumers can get their holiday shopping started early by heading to Best Buy (where they’ll receive a hard-shell turntable carrying case), Walmart (where the original DJ Hero will be thrown in gratis when buying the DJ Hero 2 Party Bundle on Wii or Xbox 360) or Amazon (where Linkin Park’s A Thousand Suns will be oh-so-graciously tossed in for no charge). Check it right now for $59.99 (software only) to $149.99 (the full monty).

Continue reading DJ Hero 2 now available for purchase, Beck still wondering about royalty checks

DJ Hero 2 now available for purchase, Beck still wondering about royalty checks originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 21:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDJ Hero, Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon  | Email this | Comments

IPad (Almost) On Sale at Walmart

The iPad continues its march towards world domination with an impending invasion of Walmart, America’s favorite supplier-bullying, content-censoring retail giant. Leaked emails and photos from eagle-eyed customers reveal that Apple’s overachieving tablet is just about to colonize shelf space nationwide.

The intercepted email shows inventory information and reveals that Walmart will stock all six iPad models at standard prices, along with Apple’s Bluetooth keyboard, the Camera Connection Kit, iPad charger, dock and case. Another email, published by Mac Rumors, details the roll-out: Walmart stores will start to sell the iPad this week, with 1,000 stores stocking it by the end of October, and a further 800 stores will carry it in November. Walmart joins Target, which is already selling the iPad in its brick-and-mortar stores.

The iPad is actually already on sale in at least one store, and is stashed under in-store displays in a rather non-secretive manner in at least one other, according to photos taken by readers of Mac Rumors and The Unofficial Apple Weblog (above right, complete with arrow for TUAW readers who don’t know what an iPad looks like). I particularly like the tag behind the on-shelf iPad, which reads “Low price: $829.” Low? Really?

I have the feeling that the iPad will be this year’s Tickle-Me-Elmo, especially as it can now be tossed into holiday-season shopping carts along with everything else at Walmart. Expect to see these things everywhere, and I mean everywhere, when the kids get ahold of them this Christmas.

Wal-Mart Preparing to Offer iPad [Mac Rumors]

iPad already showing up on Walmart shelves [TUAW]

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Walmart Family Mobile enters the postpaid war, reselling service from T-Mobile

Walmart’s already firmly entrenched in the prepaid cellular business, offering handsets and service via Common Cents (Sprint) and Straight Talk (Verizon Wireless), but according to Greg Hall, vice president of merchandising at Walmart US, there’s a “perception among customers that prepaid service doesn’t offer access to the best phones or the best network quality.” In order to combat that, the outfit will be launching a new postpaid service today dubbed Walmart Family Mobile. The actual fine print is somewhat confusing, as it offers the best of both the pre- and postpaid worlds; users will still pay their monthly bill at the end of the month, but no subsidization will take place on the phones themselves due to this being a no-contract ordeal. It’ll cost $45 per month for unlimited calling and texting for the first line, and $25 per month for every extra line; unfortunately, data will be a pricey addition at $40 per month for 1GB… but at least that rolls over each month in case you don’t use it all. Initially, Wally World will offer five handsets, with the flagship phone being Motorola’s Cliq XT at $249. Frankly, we aren’t too impressed at what’s on offer here — get unlimited data bundled with calling and texting for the same $45 / month, then we’ll talk.

Update: Official PR is now after the break, and that’s a September 20th launch date, so next Monday.

Update 2: So, Walmart’s PR team contacted us to flesh out the data plan details that the AP sort of glossed over. Thankfully, the full skinny is far more attractive than what we were led to believe. In short, each line comes with 100MB of data (one-time); after you use that up, you’ve got a trio of prepaid ‘WebPak’ options to keep you going. $10 buys you an extra 200MB, $25 gets you 500MB and $40 gets you 1GB. Good stuff!

[Thanks, Ksadd]

Continue reading Walmart Family Mobile enters the postpaid war, reselling service from T-Mobile

Walmart Family Mobile enters the postpaid war, reselling service from T-Mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Walmart to add RFID tags to individual items, freak out privacy advocates

Walmart’s been pushing RFID for years now, using it to better manage the company’s vast inventories and understand where products are and how fast they’re approaching. Now, the mega-retailer is about to take things to another level, and it just might push competitors into getting with the program. As of now, there’s limited consumer-facing benefit to tracking pallets in transit, but a Wall Street Journal report suggests that Wally World will be placing radio-frequency ID tags on individual clothes. The initiative is slated to kick off next month, and it’s expected to help apparel managers know when certain sizes and colors are depleted and need to be restocked. In theory, having this ability will ensure that consumers never see their desired size or hue as sold out, and if the clothing trial is successful, the tags could be rolled out to a near-infinite amount of kit. Of course, privacy advocates are all wound up about the idea, though it seems as if most sniffing concerns could be dealt with if the tags were removed as customers departed the store. Unless you’re leaving in a hurry, that is…

Walmart to add RFID tags to individual items, freak out privacy advocates originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceWall Street Journal, Reuters  | Email this | Comments

iPhone 4 arrives at Walmart (update: and Best Buy!)

Check out that sweet, sweet box. Yes folks, we seem to have received our very first in-the-cardboard picture of the retail iPhone 4 out in the wild. We don’t work at Walmart, so we can’t verify this one for ourselves, but our tipster says Apple’s latest phone has just landed in the big box retailer’s storehouses.

P.S. — Before you start frothing at the mouth, the CDMA coding on the box in the background relates to an LG 290C handset also stocked by Walmart.

Update: A shot of a Best Buy arrival is past the break.

Continue reading iPhone 4 arrives at Walmart (update: and Best Buy!)

iPhone 4 arrives at Walmart (update: and Best Buy!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 04:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 4 arrives at Walmart

Check out that sweet, sweet box. Yes folks, we seem to have received our very first in-the-cardboard picture of the retail iPhone 4 out in the wild. We don’t work at Walmart, so we can’t verify this one for ourselves, but our tipster says Apple’s latest phone has just landed in the big box retailer’s storehouses.

P.S. — Before you start frothing at the mouth, the CDMA coding on the box in the background relates to an LG 290C handset also stocked by Walmart.

iPhone 4 arrives at Walmart originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 04:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blio finally launching e-reading software soon, Walmart excited for some reason or another

So yeah, we sort of forgot all about Blio and its e-reading software for laptops and smartphones, but it turns out the company has kept on truckin’. While it seems to have missed the February release of its software, famed inventor and founder of the company Ray Kurzweil told the New York Times that it will be more widely available over the next two months. He also went on to mention that “large PC” manufacturers along with retailers “like Walmart” will start offering it on their own products. Oh, Wally World, you say? Apparently, the mega-tailer wouldn’t comment on the statement, but it certainly has us raising our eyebrows wondering about a Walmart e-reading product of sorts. Regardless, we’re excited to see Blio finally making some waves after being fairly impressed with the features of the color reading experience when we saw it back at CES — now, to see if those waves lead to action.

Blio finally launching e-reading software soon, Walmart excited for some reason or another originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Jun 2010 07:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceThe New York Times  | Email this | Comments