Sams Club to sell the iPhone and iPad

By Jeffrey Van Camp October 14, 2010

Who isn’t selling the iPad and iPhone these days? Wal-Mart’s buy-in-bulk members-only store, Sam’s Club, has jumped on the Apple bandwagon. At an investors meeting today, as reported by CNET, representatives confirmed that the warehouse store will begin selling the iPhone 4, iPad, and iPod Touch in the near future, though no official date or pricing information was given. The news comes a day after partent-company Wal-Mart announced that it would begin selling the iPad in some stores on Friday, with a full 2,300 store roll-out by the middle of November.

Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club join a growing list of retailers offering the top-selling Apple products. Best Buy and Target also sell the devices alongside official Apple and AT&T stores.

According to Bernstein Research, the iPad is the fastest selling gadget of all time, with more than 8 million units sold since it launched in April. Apple’s expansion into a wider array of retail outlets could be a preemptive move against the mounting competition in the tablet and smartphone spaces. Google’s Android operating system appears to be the platform of choice for many upcoming iPad-like tablets. Competition from other mobile operating systems like Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7, RIM’s BlackBerry, and even a HP-revamped WebOS is also possible.

Is it a smart move for Apple to offer its products in such a large number of stores? Will increased availability and discounts from major retailers make the devices less cool, or are are you hunting for your membership card now?

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Jeffrey Van Camp

Former Digital Trends Contributor

As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…

Deals

Best Apple Deals: MacBooks, AirPods, iPads, iMacs, AirTags and more

dell xps 15 vs macbook pro 16 apple ry 14 1200x9999

Pretty much all Apple products are some of the best-in-class for their respective type of tech. However, you do pay for the privilege with many devices like iPads or MacBooks costing a little more than non-Apple variants. That's why it's so useful to find great Apple deals like the ones below. We've picked out some of the best ways to save substantially on highly sought after Apple products from accessories to AirPods and more. Take a look below at some of our favorite Apple deals right now.
AirTags (4-pack) -- $89, was $99

If you worry about misplacing items, you need Apple AirTags. With a simple one-tap setup, your iPhone or iPad is instantly connected to an AirTag so that you can always use find items via the Find My app. That could be your car keys, your bag, or anything else that you can fit or slip an AirTag into. If you misplace something, you can simply put the AirTag into Lost Mode to be notified when it's detected in the Find My network helping you pin it down. You can also play a sound through the built-in speaker if you know it's nearby but you're not sure if it's worth moving the couch to find it.

Mobile

I lost my iPhone on a dream vacation — and it wasn’t a nightmare

Photo of Spain.

Our trip to Spain and Morocco, which my wife, Julie, had meticulously planned for 15 months, started off rather inauspiciously on June 25. After arriving in Chicago from Portland, Oregon, we learned that our connecting flight to Newark, New Jersey, had been canceled due to weather concerns. As we waited in line for two-and-a-half hours to talk to a United Airlines agent, we were told via text by a customer service rep that we might be stuck in the Windy City for two days.

A 30-year Spanish teacher, Julie was on the verge of fulfilling a lifelong dream of visiting Spain. Now, several activities were in danger of being erased from her bucket list as her worst fears about the trip were being realized. When we finally made it to the service desk, our hope was all but snuffed out. We explained the situation to the agent, who spent several minutes looking at his computer wordlessly. He eventually looked up and said: "I can you get out on a flight tonight."

Mobile

How to fast charge your iPhone

iPhone 12 Mini with charger

While they may not be some of the longest-lasting smartphones on the market, modern iPhones boast more than respectable battery life that should be able to get you through an entire day's use without breaking too much of a sweat. Of course, that assumes a lot of things — including a battery that's still relatively new and in good health, plus a usage pattern that doesn't include all-day streaming or gaming.

If you fall into either (or both) of these categories, then overnight charging isn't going to cut it, and you'll want to get your battery topped up again as quickly as you can so you can get back on the road. Thankfully, every iPhone released in the past six years supports much faster charging, but the downside is that with very few exceptions, Apple has never supplied you with the right adapter to get the best possible charging speeds from your iPhone.