When you order products online, it’s likely from Amazon. Google Express has slowly been built up as a competitor to Amazon for certain cases, and a huge reason for that was thanks to a partnership with Walmart. Now, though, Walmart has disappeared entirely from Google’s shopping platform.
In what may be the most bizarre launch so far this year, Walmart has launched a premium shopping service using an unlikely mix of old and new technology …
We’re just a day away from Google’s big hardware event, and one of the products we’re looking forward to most is the compact Google Home Mini. The $50 assistant looks great, and now it’s just popped up for pre-order through Walmart.
Since the launch of Android Pay, retail giant Walmart has refused to accept the mobile payment option, saying instead that it only matters that consumers have a payment option that is widely accepted. Today, however, Walmart has announced its own mobile payment solution called Walmart Pay that is compatible with both iOS and Android.
The Moto G has always been a great deal but it hasn’t been paired with the best budget carriers to date. In what might be a big holiday seller for mid-tier users, Sprint subsidy Virgin today began offering 3 new Android smartphones including the Moto G 3rd gen. for $150, the HTC Desire 626s for $130 and Huawei Union at $80.
The standout here is the Moto G which I absolutely loved (with a few caveats) which retails at $180. The 5-inch phone is pretty close to flagship level last year with a few missing bits. The 5 inch screen is perfect sized but the lack of NFC payment options might be a turn off. It shares the camera of the Nexus 6 and it is IPX7 waterproof to 3 feet for 30 minutes. Hopefully Virgin won’t mess with the almost stock Android and provide timely updates (fingers crossed)
That $30 you save you can pay your 1st month of usage on the 3 gig 4G of data plan (see plans below). While Sprint’s network may not be the strongest in all areas, I’ve found it to be improving rapidly lately.
The Moto G will almost certainly be the first Android 6.0 device on Virgin and at $150 down and $30/month a great gift idea for the kids/parents/grandparents out there. Alternatively, if you want to use an Android device like an iPod touch (without a carrier) this is the first $30 discount we’ve seen.
Expand
Expanding
Close
Virgin Mobile, which offers a number of prepaid Android devices, is introducing a few new plans for its smartphones sold through Walmart.
Data Done Right Single Line and Multi-line Data Sharing plans are available exclusively at Walmart and are currently available on seven different 4G LTE2 smartphones, including the Samsung Galaxy S5. All phones come pre-loaded with the Virgin Mobile application, which provides data buy-ups and international add-ons with one touch, directly from the device. Every Multi-line plan also comes with a free mobile hotspot feature, making it even easier to share data across Wi-Fi enabled devices.
The new Data Done Right single line plans are reduced by $5 over previous offerings and include 500MB more high-speed data before throttling users. The plans start at $30/month for 300 minutes talk with unlimited text and data, and go up to $40 for unlimited everything.
There are also new multi-line plans that include an extra 2GB of high-speed data and range from $65/month for 2 lines to $115/month for 4 lines with 6GB of shared high-speed data on the low-end plan up to 14GB shared on the $115 plan.
The new plans will become available this Monday, May 18. You can check out the selection of devices here.
Half of a 2012 FTC report on Google’s business practices has been “inadvertently disclosed” in an open records request by the WSJ. Bizarrely, what was leaked was every other page of the report. MarketingLand’s Danny Sullivan has been busy reading the report and tweeting some of the things revealed by it.
The FTC eventually concluded that Google had not violated antitrust laws by favoring its own services over that of rivals, but found it was “a close call.”
[tweet https://twitter.com/dannysullivan/status/580634396618698752/]
Google did, for example, promote its own services in search results …
Expand
Expanding
Close
From 9to5Toys.com where we are rounding up all the best Black Friday deals we have two huge headliners on the almost never discounted Nest product line (that Google picked up along with iPod-father Tony Fadell earlier this year):
The Nest Learning Thermostat (2nd generation) for $199 shipped. That’s $50 below list and the best price we’ve ever seen.
You can find it at Amazon, Best Buy, Lowes and Abt for $199 for a limited time.
The Dropcam Wireless HD Video Monitoring Camera can be found for $99.99 with free shipping. That’s $50 below list and the lowest price we have ever seen on this cloud-based camera/recording system.
Available for $$99 ($50 off) at Amazon and Best Buy.
With a 107° degree field of view and 4x zoom, Dropcam keeps you connected with people, places and pets in sharp 720p HD video.
Head over to 9to5Toys for the Best Black Friday deals on the web. A little more background on Nest:
Expand
Expanding
Close
Since its initial release last year, the Chromecast has added support for a plethora of apps and services, including Plex, Vevo, Songza, and many more. Last month, Google announced the Chromecast SDK, which it said would make supporting the device even easier for developers. Online streaming video service Vudu has now announced that it too will soon support Chromecast with that SDK.
On its website Sunday, the WalMart-owned company stated that both its Android and iOS apps will soon receive updates that add Chromecast support. The company also adds that streaming will be available through Chrome on Windows and Mac, although that has been available since day one.
There are no details available as to when we can expect the Android and iOS Vudu apps to be updated, although we can’t imagine it taking too long. Rdio and Beats Music are also expected to add Chromecast support soon, so it’s clear that the SDK is going to help beef up the app selection significantly.
We’ve already covered the Target, Walmart and Best Buy Black Fridays earlier this month as their Black Friday ads broke cover to the world. However, there are far more Android-related deals to be had on Black Friday and here are some of the most notable across the nations largest retailers. Don’t forget to sneak a peek at what T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint have to offer as well.
Our expectations are always tempered when it comes to the wireless carriers and Black Friday specials as its been a long, long time since I can remember a deal that made my jaw drop. With that in mind, Verizon Wireless’ 2013 Black Friday ad has hit the airwaves thanks to BlackFriday.com but it won’t knock your socks off. Thankfully, it will help those of you looking to pick up a DROID RAZR HD for free or a Motorola DROID Ultra for $99 with a two-year agreement.
Ah yes, winter is in the air and along with it the promise of Black Friday shopping deals. I’ll just get right to it and say if you’re in the market for a Galaxy S 4…you should hold off and take a look at the Walmart and Target deals coming up in a little under two weeks.
Walmart apparently sent a memo to store managers on Sept. 19. announcing plans to stop selling Amazon’s line of Kindle products.
“We have recently made the business decision to not carry Amazon tablets and eReaders beyond our existing inventory and purchase commitments,” said Walmart in the memo. “This includes all Amazon Kindle models current and recently announced.”
Reuters, which cited the memo and an unidentified source “familiar with situation,” first reported the news:
In the memo, Wal-Mart said the decision was consistent with its overall merchandising strategy. While Wal-Mart dwarfs other retailers in overall sales, it trails Amazon and others online and has been stepping up efforts to increase its presence there. Consumers who buy Kindle tablets such as the new Kindle Fire HD can shop on the devices for more than just digital books, pushing Amazon into further competition with stores.
The publication did not provide additional details, but Walmart.com currently reflects the reported change. When searching for “Kindle” on the national retailer’s website, no Kindle-related products appear in the queue. It is unclear if Walmart’s website ever offered the tablets, however.
We told you last week that Google was readying physical gift cards for Google Play content, and the company made things official today by announcing the cards will roll out to Target, GameStop, and RadioShack retail outlets in the coming weeks. The cards will be available in $10, $25, and $50, and they will initially only be available in the United States at the retailers mentioned above and through Walmart.com later this month.
-Explore millions of songs from top artists, thousands of your favorite movies and TV shows, the world’s largest selection of eBooks, and much more. Play your purchases instantly on the web or on the go — no need for wires or syncing.
-Shop for all the Android apps and games you love with your Google Play gift card. You can even use it to purchase extra levels, add-on packs, and virtual currency.
Earlier today, Walmart published a press release on its corporate website announcing that Google’s Vice President of Local, Maps and Location services Marissa A. Mayer has been nominated for the company’s Board of Directors. In addition to an announcement claiming she’s “very excited” about the nomination on her Google+ page, Mayer made a full statement in the press release:
“I am very excited to be nominated for the Walmart board… I have long been a customer and admirer of the company. Walmart is an amazing story of entrepreneurship and, as one of the world’s most powerful brands, touches millions of lives every day. I look forward to contributing to Walmart’s continued growth, success, and innovation in the years to come.”
Walmart will vote to elect Mayer at its Annual Shareholders’ meeting June 1. The company’s full press release is below:
Expand
Expanding
Close
We knew it was coming since January when Google confirmed the Galaxy Nexus would launch on Sprint after first releasing exclusively on Verizon. According to a document sent to The Verge from an anonymous Walmart employee, the device will launch April 22 at Sam’s Club. There will not be many surprises when it finally does launch, as leaked ads in January revealed a 1.5GHz processor, opposed to the 1.2GHz packed in Verizon’s variant. Other than that, we will likely see a device that is identical to Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus, but Sprint—unlike Verizon—will support Google Wallet.
Expand
Expanding
Close
It looks like Barnes & Noble plans to release a new 8GB model of its Nook Tablet that is only available in a 16 GB version for $249. The proof comes from documentation acquired by The Verge, and as the publication pointed out, it is pretty much safe to assume the new 8GB Nook Tab will come in closer to the price tag of its biggest competitor the Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire. At the launch of the Nook Tablet, B&N CEO William Lynch claimed the Kindle Fire is “deficient for a media tablet” due to its 8GB of storage (6GB available for user content). According to the document, the 8GB Nook Tablet will be landing in Walmart this Wednesday, Feb. 22.
