May 19 - 3:20pm EDT   Walmart is incorporating Apple sections into its stores as part of a major revamping program, notes Barclays Capital analyst Ben Reitzes. The low-end retailer is significantly expanding its electronics departments, with the aim of filling the gap left in TV sales after the bankruptcy of Circuit City. Within these areas will be sections devoted to some of the most powerful brands, including those outside of TVs such as Apple and Nintendo. [full story]

May 18 - 9:10am EDT   Walmart is undergoing a significant expansion of its electronics section that will include the Palm Pre, the retailer says. Although recent leaks had so far only pointed to a Best Buy offering of the smartphone outside of Sprint's own stores, Walmart tells the WSJ that it expects to carry the phone "soon." Most leaks have pointed to Sprint carrying the Pre on June 7th. [full story]

May 8 - 2:55pm EDT   The previously hinted-at T-Mobile G1 V2 may have a design much more consciously inspired by the iPhone, a follow-up leak indicates. While the first G1 has sometimes been criticized for its thick and rectangular design, the V2 found by BGR would have a much thinner, sleeker design with chrome accents and a black front not unlike its Apple rival. It would also have dedicated ringer and volume switches. [full story]

May 7 - 3:20pm EDT   A "strong possibility" exists that AT&T will lower the cost of its base-level iPhone plan, according to Cote Collaborative's Michael Cote. The analyst cites evidence such as disappointing iPhone 3G sales through Walmart, which typically markets to poor or middle-class demographics that may not be able to justify the $69 monthly minimum for an iPhone, on top of a one-time $197 hardware cost. Once completed, the two-year AT&T contract alone costs approximately $1,880. [full story]

April 7 - 11:20pm EDT   Amazon MP3 and Walmart weren't immune to pressure for variable song pricing and today started quietly charging higher prices for popular songs. In particular, about 10 of the top 100 songs on Amazon now meet the same $1.29 prices as similar tracks on iTunes, including recent Beyonce, Britney Spears and The Fray songs. Walmart's store, in turn, is now charging $1.24 per song for some titles and has a section dedicated to tracks at the higher price, most of which have been long-term hits rather than just recent releases. [full story]

January 16 - 5:05pm EST   What sounds like a frivolous lawsuit was filed in a California court at the start of this year against retail giant Walmart and online video rental company Netflix. The lawsuit alleges that, by letting Netflix take over its struggling online DVD rental business nearly four years ago, the two companies have created a monopoly and have driven Blockbuster to raise its subscription rental prices by $3 to match Netflix' pricing scheme. [full story]

January 6 - 9:10am EST   Joining AT&T, which already offers a similar program, Best Buy has begun selling refurbished versions of the iPhone 3G, priced $50 less at $149 for 8GB and $249 for 16GB. The phones are ones that were returned within the first 30 days of ownership, the retailer says, and remain eligible as an upgrade option for owners of first-gen iPhones. A fresh, two-year AT&T contract is still required with a purchase. [full story]

January 2 - 1:25pm EST   By Jeff Valvano Media tracking agency Nielsen SoundScan this week noted that physical album sales in the US have dropped a significant 20 percent between 2007 and 2008 to just 360.6 million copies. The drop marks the seventh decline in eight years and is credited partly to both a shift towards online-only music sales as well as illegal file trading. Nielsen warns in particular that the steepest drop came in the fall, when music labels normally depend on an increase due to holiday gifts. [full story]

December 26 - 11:25am EST   Walmart has confirmed long-standing rumors, and will soon begin selling the iPhone 3G, according to an announcement. As expected, the phone will become available on December 28th from the low-end retailer, and sell in an 8GB model for $197 or a 16GB version for $297 -- in each case, just $2 less than the prices offered by Apple, AT&T and Best Buy. Shoppers will still require a two-year contract through AT&T. [full story]

December 23 - 8:55am EST   Music labels should all but phase out CDs as a key source of income in as little as a year, analyst group Gartner says today in a new report. Research VP Mark McGuire argues that the shift towards direct online music downloads is now so well underway that the industry has little choice but to push the format heavily and that the market share for CDs is declining too quickly to ever properly recover. By trying to sustain the physical medium for so long, the industry has failed to give buyers a viable alternative to piracy and clung to dying technology at the same time, McGuire explains. [full story]

December 18 - 8:10pm EST   A day after the leak of alleged internal Walmart memo detailing its iPhone 3G launch, an image has surfaced that suggests the company has begun marketing the device ahead of schedule, according to AppleInsider. The poster appears to be wrapped around an anti-theft sensor and reads simply "iPhone 3G. Now at Walmart." The memo suggested that a pilot program would allow Wal-Mart employees to purchase the phones at 488 stores. [full story]

December 17 - 10:35am EST   A leaked internal memo describes Walmart's plans for an iPhone launch later this month, a report alleges. The memo appears to validate signs that the phone will launch on December 28th, specifically at 9AM. It goes on to make mention of an earlier pilot program, however, in which some 488 stores will be given five iPhones each, to be sold only to Walmart employees; eligible workers are being picked via raffle. [full story]

December 15 - 9:50am EST   Apple may be close to releasing a smaller iPhone, a case leak from China suggests. Coming from the same site that accurately leaked cases for the current iPod nano and iPod touch, the shots of an XSKN case show a device which is about 20 percent shorter than the 3G model and slightly narrower; thickness is unknown but doesn't appear substantially thicker than the iPhone 3G, with which it shares its tapered design and a likely chrome bezel. The device accordingly has a smaller home button but keeps a camera and side controls for the ringer and volume. [full story]

December 8 - 12:25pm EST   Although the Kaufman Bros. research group has called the prospect of a $99 iPhone "inevitable," such a price is actually unlikely in the near future, according to UBS analyst Maynard Um. Um is in particular responding to a report from the San Jose Mercury News, which cites the possibility of a $99 price and a special 4GB capacity at Walmart. There are several reasons this view should be considered improbable, says Um, beginning with the fact that the Mercury News cites only one Walmart worker as a source for the 4GB phone option. [full story]

December 8 - 9:40am EST   Newer sources back the notion that Walmart will soon begin carrying the iPhone, Bloomberg reports. The news agency cites cellphone department workers at five California Walmarts, who again say that the iPhone is due by the end of December, and that sales training for it is already in progress. The exact timing of the launch remains contentious however, as while previous reports have hinted at a December 28th launch, a store representative from Yuba City says the phone will come the day before Christmas; a clerk in Stockton suggests that a launch could happen as soon as December 15th. [full story]