Wal-Mart is looking for the next hot product and they’re hoping that you have it. The super-retailer just launched “Get On The Shelf,” an “American Idol”-like contest for inventors.

CNN reports that Wal-Mart is typically very strict about its product selection. Venky Harinarayan, senior vice president of Wal-Mart’s global e-commerce unit, said:

“For a long time, the ability to get a product into a retail store was at the sole discretion of the store buyer. Today we are removing these barriers by giving anyone the chance to launch their product at Wal-Mart and reach millions of shoppers nationwide.”

People will get to vote for their favorite products on GetOnTheShelf.com. The three top items will earn a place on Wal-Mart shelves around the country. Wal-Mart announced the contest today but they have been gathering entries for months. Currently, an iPad pillow, boots for dogs, an auto pet dish, pills that promise to get rid of grey hair, beach crutches,  a soda bottle lock, and a holiday card display stand are fighting for shelf space.

Entrepreneurial hopefuls can pitch their products with a video until February 22nd. The first round of voting will happen between March 7th and April 4th. 10 finalist will be chosen and those products will be voted on from April 11th to April 24th. The top three products will be produced, shipped, and stocked at Wal-Marts around the country.

Here’s a promo for “Get On The Shelf.”

Do you have a product that Wal-Mart should sell?

Get On the Shelf: Wal-Mart Starts Contest for Inventors [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Elizabeth Macias, the woman who used pepper spray on her fellow Wal-Mart shoppers during Black Friday this year, may sue the retail giant.

Macias says that she only used the pepper spray because she felt like her life was in danger. If Walmart had better security during the annual shopping event, the incident never would have happened.

According to ABC, Macias, 32, used the pepper spray after her two teenage children were attacked by Wal-Mar shoppers. According to her Attorney Michael Champ, Macias’ son was on the ground being punched by a man when she decided to pull out the pepper spray.

Champ said:

“Right before they did the unveiling, one of the Wal-Mart managers announced that they weren’t going to do any unveiling until all Wal-Mart employees were out of harms way…. My clients daughter was beaten, kicked, and punched by another female shopper. She’s crying out ‘help me, help me mommy.”

A video of the incident shows Macias running away from the crowd without her children. Camp said that Macias was just “leading the way.”

Macias turned herself into police the following day. ABC reports that Macias avoided felony charges but could still be charged with a misdemeanor.

Do you think Wal-Mart should be held responsible for the pepper-spraying incident? Was it Wal-Mart’s lack of security that forced Elizabeth Macias to use pepper spray against her fellow shoppers? Or is Macias just trying to capitalize on the incident?

Elizabeth Macias, Woman Who Pepper Sprayed Walmart Shoppers, May Sue Store is a post from: The Inquisitr

Critics of the health care reform act passed under President Obama have generally gone one of two ways: either saying that the reforms don’t go far enough and should have obliterated profit-centric insurance companies entirely, or contending that due to the law, companies will be “forced” to pass rising costs on to workers or otherwise compensate by trimming workforces or benefit levels.

It seems Wal-Mart is feeding the latter group’s grumblings, despite an original assertion the mega-retailer favored health care reforms. The company has announced a shift in coverage burden to its notoriously poorly-paid workforce, as well as some cuts to coverage for employees who work fewer hours. Wal-Mart has come in for criticism in the past for passing its insurance costs on to taxpayers with a workforce eligible for and often reliant on programs like Medicaid, but it doesn’t seem this factored into the decision of one of the largest employers in the US.

Spokesman for Wal-Mart Greg Rossiter told the New York Times:

“Over the last few years, we’ve seen our health care rates increase and it’s probably not a surprise that this year will be no different. We made the difficult decision to raise rates that will affect our associates’ medical costs. The decisions made were not easy, but they strike a balance between managing costs and providing quality care and coverage.”

While it seems the problem can’t be tackled until Americans face the fact that a for-profit healthcare system has become unaffordable for a growing number of Americans, many still believe that moves to reform health care and make access more affordable are a step in the wrong direction. However, it seems that Wal-Mart’s decision to drop some employees- part-timers at over 30 hours per week- may be changed by law when the reforms go into effect in 2014.

Health Care Benefits Cost Being Passed On to Employees By Wal-Mart is a post from: The Inquisitr

The retail behemoth known worldwide as Wal-Mart is also known for it’s habit of trying to force its own morality upon the manufacturers of things it sells. This is most predominately showcased when it comes to music that is available at the retail chain.

The latest victim of Wal-Mart censorship is the new album from Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown, which they will not be carrying in their stores because the band wouldn’t offer the retailer a clean version of the album.

"Wal-Mart’s become the biggest retail outlet in the country, but they won’t carry our record because they wanted us to censor it," frontman Billie Joe Armstrong griped to the press. "They want artists to censor their records in order to be carried in there. We just said no. We’ve never done it before. You feel like you’re in 1953 or something."

Source: Yahoo Music

It’s not like the banning from Wal-Mart stores has hurt the band’s newest release though as it still debut at number one.

Wal-Mart censorship – no Green Day for you is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Boy Genius Report obtained what it describes as “internal Wal-Mart correspondence” stating that 2,500 Wal-Mart stores and a handful of Sam’s Club stores across the U.S. will get the iPhone 3G, though no indication is made of how much the devices might cost. Some Wal-Mart stores started selling the T-Mobile G1 Android phone at a discounted rate — about 17 percent less than the T-Mobile cost — a few weeks ago, so the idea isn’t altogether improbable.

Wal-Mart, for its part, isn’t saying much — stating only that no announcement has been made.

The memo printed at BGR follows.

We are pleased to announce that Wal-Mart has reached agreement with Apple to offer iPhone 3G in Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart-managed Sam’s Club* Connection Centers nationwide beginning December 28, 2008. AT&T will support Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club with the activation process for iPhone 3G, and we need all National Retail employees engaged to ensure a successful launch.

*NOTE: This product launch DOES NOT apply to SC Kiosks within Sam’s Club managed by Radio Shack.

Wal-Mart has communicated the following launch plans and execution timeline to their employees:

* iPhone 3G will be available in-store only beginning 12/28/08
* New and existing customers in good standing can purchase iPhone 3G with a 2 year contract
* iPhone 3G transactions only will be processed through POS.com, not the kiosk

Execution Timeline:

12/2 – 12/5: AT&T / Wal-Mart MEM Classroom Training for Store Leads
12/3 – 12/19: AT&T In-Store Training
12/26 – 12/27: AT&T In-Store Refresher Training
12/28: Nationwide Launch
12/28 – 12/30: Wal-Mart and AT&T War Room Support

Report: Wal-Mart to Start Selling iPhone 3G is a post from: The Inquisitr

Well this year Wal-Mart’s zombie crew of lawyers have decided that it is time to send these still illegal DMCA takedown notices to any sites that even provide links to sites displaying the Black Friday ads. Such is the case with SearchAllDeals.com; a search engine/aggregator of various deals sites, who recieved one of the takedown notices from Wal-Mart’s lawyers Baker Hostetier. Below you can read a copy of the takedown notice sent to SearchAllDeals.com

The funny thing is that even Wal-Mart employees acknowledge that these ‘leaks’ help increase business. Now I am not a fan of Wal-Mart to say the least but jeez guys what the hell are you doing here other than creating a lot of bad press over something that is now out of your control. Grow up and be thankful that at least some people want to shop in your stores.

[takedown notice graphic courtesy of Techdirt]

Wal-Mart sics the dogs of war on Black Friday Ad linkers is a post from: The Inquisitr

The data show that 16 percent of iPhone owners are in households making less than $25,000 a year, and 48 percent are in households making between $25,000 and $49,999. The median household income, according to U.S. Census data from August, is just over $50,000.

What’s more, the growth rate in iPhone adoption is more than three times higher in those lower income brackets compared to brackets of people whose households incomes top $100k.

“As an additional household budget item, a $200 device plus at least $70 per month for phone service seems a bit extravagant for those with lower disposable income,” says Jen Wu, the ComScore senior analyst who wrote the report.

So what’s the story here? There are a few possible explanations. First, the iPhone has traditionally been a big hit among the younger crowd, many of whom are either in college or early in careers — thus, living on their own, and likely not making a ton of money. The typical $100,000+ household, one might contend, could be more likely to be made up of more corporate business folks — “suits,” per se — who may be more apt to have work-issued BlackBerries strapped to their waists.

Aside from that, though, there’s another factor that ComScore points out: Some people are paying more for an iPhone, but then saving in the long-run by cutting back on other areas of spending — Internet access, music, and other communication-oriented services, for example.

“One actually realizes cost savings when the device is used in lieu of multiple digital devices and services, transforming the iPhone from a luxury item to a practical communication and entertainment tool,” notes Wu.

Speaking of savings, have you heard that Wal-Mart is carrying the G1 as of today? The price is $148.88, about $31 less than what T-Mobile is charging. If ComScore’s data is to be believed, the lower-price, discount-style option for Android’s first smartphone may be a pretty smart move.

Study: iPhone Most Popular With Lower Earners is a post from: The Inquisitr

The company had announced late last month that it would shut the servers down, meaning anyone who downloaded tracks from its Web site before February — when it switched to DRM-free files — would no longer be able to transfer the music to other computers or devices. (At least, not without taking the backdoor approach of burning it to disc, then re-ripping it.)

Now, Wally World says “based on feedback from [its] customers,” it will “maintain [its] digital rights management (DRM) servers for the present time,” the e-mail obtained by Engadget indicates. No telling how long that “present time” will end up being — but hey, it’s reassuring to see that a massive customer backlash can, sometimes, make a difference.

In the meantime, Apple is still facing a fight to completely drop its digital rights protection from iTunes-downloaded songs. A consumer rights official in Norway says the company’s restrictions violate his nation’s laws by not letting customers play their purchases on any device they want. Apple has until November 3 to respond to a Norwegian court. Its final ruling isn’t expected until early next year.

Consumers Convince Wal-Mart to Keep DRM Servers is a post from: The Inquisitr