Target has the iPad. Is Walmart next?
Target stores now have the iPad on their shelves in plenty of times for the holidays. Next, the fast-selling iPad is due to show up at some Walmart stores in addition to Apple Stores and Best Buy.
Since the iPad does not necessarily need a wireless supplier, it’s Apple’s big chance to spread the wealth among a number of retailers, and it is apparently going to try to do that before the holiday season hits in earnest, according to a Fortune story. Best Buy has had the Apple tablet computer for some time, although quantities were very limited there during the period when waits were long for the device even on line through Apple. Now, though, it seems that Apple wants to be ready deliver the iPad through a number of retail outlets as it gets ready to face the first period of real competition in the tablet marketplace.
The Target deal will go a long way toward that goal, especially when added to the existing Best Buy arrangement. After all, target added 1,743 domestic sales outlets to the existing 1,093 Best Buy stores for the Apple tablet when it went on sale at Target yesterday. That may still not be enough for Apple, though. It seems likely that the iPad will also be available in at least part of the Walmart store chain before the first of the year, which could just about double the number of outlets at which the Apple tablet is available. It looks like Apple is expecting an iPad kind of Christmas.
Of course, the maker of the iPad will be facing some competitive iPad pressure during the holidays. It seems that someone announces a new tablet every few days, including the two that are supposed to be the most competitive. Hewlett-Packard should have their Windows 7 based PC ready for Christmas, but the RIM Playbook is not expected until early next year, as is the H-P WebOS tablet. Starting in November (or sooner), the retail tablet market should begin to heat up in earnest.
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