The Inquisitr » wal-mart

Wal-Mart censorship – no Green Day for you

Steven Hodson — Sat, 23 May 2009 23:56:07 +0000

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.

Report: Wal-Mart to Start Selling iPhone 3G

JR — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:18:47 +0000

You might be able to get a discounted iPhone 3G if you wait till after the holidays. A rumor floating around the Web this morning claims Wal-Mart will start selling the 3G phone on December 28.

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

Wal-Mart sics the dogs of war on Black Friday Ad linkers

Steven Hodson — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:25:17 +0000

This kind of stuff is enough to turn the smile of the Wal-Mart Smiley character upside down. In the past Wal-Mart has been well know for siccing its legions of lawyers on any site that displayed any information about the company’s Black Friday deals even though it has been proven that any DMCA notices sent out are illegal.

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]

Study: iPhone Most Popular With Lower Earners

JR — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:11:24 +0000

Here’s a bit of a surprise: The majority of iPhone users aren’t exactly rolling in the dough. Even given the not-so-low price of the device, some new numbers from ComScore indicate most people with iPhones make less than the median American household income.

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.

Consumers Convince Wal-Mart to Keep DRM Servers

JR — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:44:37 +0000

Wal-Mart has changed course and decided to keep its DRM servers up and running, according to an e-mail posted at Engadget.

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.