Apple iPad lands at Walmart on Friday

By Geoff Duncan October 12, 2010

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Apple may have had trouble making enough iPads to meet demand when the tablet devices first debuted, but now the iPad is taking another step towards retail market saturation: the Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that retail giant Walmart will start selling the iPad beginning this Friday at selected retail locations, with availability spreading to more than 2,300 Walmart locations in time for the end-of-year holiday buying season.

A distribution deal with Walmart adds significantly to the iPad’s retail availability over the holidays: the device is now on sale via Amazon.com, and recently appeared at discount retailer target. The iPad has been on sale at electronics retailer Best Buy since its launch earlier this year.

Walmart is known for bringing products to customers at discounted prices, but it looks like its pricing on the iPad is going to match pricing available from Apple and it’s other retail partners: the Wi-Fi, 16 GB model will be available for $499. So far, only Target has been able to set up a discount, with owners of Target credit cards being able to get a 5 percent discount on an iPad. Walmart will be offering the iPad through its site-to-store service, however, which offers free shipping of online orders sent to a local Walmart store for pickup.

Apple’s ability to move the iPad into major retail channels this holiday season may be key to the device maintaining its lead current in the tablet computing arena. A slew of Android tablets—debatably led by the Samsung Galaxy Tab (see DT’s hands-on video)—are getting ready to land at retailers.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Mobile

Stop! Don’t buy this iPad at Best Buy today

The iPad 10.2 is great for reading.

For those who want to buy one of Apple's iPads but within a tight budget, the highly recommended option is the ninth-generation Apple iPad. The Wi-Fi, 64GB model is pretty cheap for its , which is how much it's going for on Best Buy, but you'll enjoy savings of $80 if you purchase the tablet from Walmart, where it's available for just $249. You're going to have to be quick in completing the transaction though -- with more than 500 units sold over the past 24 hours, we're not sure how much time is remaining before stocks run out.

Why you should buy the Apple iPad 9th Gen
The ninth-generation Apple iPad was released in 2021, but it's still in our roundup of the best iPads as the best iPad on a budget. While it's not as powerful as the latest models of Apple's tablets, it still provides decent performance for most daily tasks with its A13 Bionic chip, which is the same processor that's found in the iPhone 11 series. The tablet ships with iPadOS 15, but you can upgrade it to the latest iPadOS 17 right after unboxing it to be able to access the operating system's latest features.

Mobile

Apple Watch Series 9 is even cheaper than it was on Black Friday

A person checking the fitness data on an Apple Watch Series 9.

One of the best Apple deals at the moment is over at Best Buy with a huge $100 off the Apple Watch Series 9. That means instead of costing $399, it’s down to $299 for a limited time which is fantastic value for an equally fantastic smartwatch. If you’ve been waiting for great Apple Watch deals, now is your chance. Take a look below if you need more reminders as to why the Apple Watch Series 9 is perfect for so many people.

Why you should buy the Apple Watch Series 9
The Apple Watch Series 9 is one of the best smartwatches around and the ideal addition for any iPhone owning fitness enthusiast. That’s thanks to it doing a fantastic job of tracking everything you’re doing. At a basic level, it has sensors which mean it can monitor your heart rate giving you a heads up if it detects an irregular heart rhythm or an unusually high or low amount of beats.

Mobile

How to transfer photos from an iPhone to a computer

The Apple iPhone 15 Plus's gallery app.

As the old saying goes, the best camera is the one you always have with you. If you're like most iPhone users, that means you've likely amassed a sizeable collection of photos on your device. However, while Apple's Photos app is a great way to manage and view your photo library, it's never a good idea to keep all your eggs in one basket. After all, suffering a lost or broken iPhone is painful enough without also losing all your precious digital memories in the process.

Even if you're backing up your iPhone to iCloud or your computer, it's a good idea to keep your photos backed up separately. After all, opening a folder or a photo management app is a much easier way to get at your photos than trying to extract them from an iCloud or iTunes/Finder backup, which requires either restoring them to another iPhone or relying on special software tools.