iPhone misses Walmart date, may hit in December

View this article at: http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/11/18/walmart.iphone.in.dec/

Tuesday, Nov 18, 2008 3:00pm

iPhone misses Walmart date, may hit in December

The iPhone is not yet in Walmart stores, but may ship to them in December, new accounts claim. Although sources had suggested that Walmart could carry the iPhone as soon as November 15th, that date has since passed without any indication of a near-future release. New reports indicate that the launch may have been delayed, and will instead happen towards the end of December, possibly after Christmas. Managers at Walmart stores are said to have been informed of plans, in part through a memo revealing the new timeframe. A number of low-level workers may also be aware of plans.

Inclusion of Walmart in the iPhone distribution chain could be extremely beneficial to Apple, as the former has over 3,500 stores in the US, almost three times the reach of even AT&T, which has approximately 1,200 locations. Apple has also clearly indicated a desire to expand to third-party vendors, having moved the iPhone into Best Buy stores earlier this year.