Wow, it’s been a while and needing some updates..  I got a lot to cover, so meaning it’s Check-out, lets get into the Express lane for some simple and quick updates.

Last week you local Walmart store overhauled their PC selection. Depending on your local store Netbooks from $298, Laptops from $348 and Desktops from $298 all with Windows 7.  Some stores have live units out on demo with an expanded in-store selection.  Online we carry over 250 PC’s, click here for more information .

It’s Tax time! Stop in, or shop online for Tax software, PC’s & accessories Click Here for more information.

Earth Month (April) is right around the corner. I don’t know what its like where you live, but in the Bay Area the local power company is installing smart meters. I’ll be able to login online and look at my power consumption by hour, day and month to look at lowering it. Check out this article that was in the San Jose Mercury News the other day. It speaks to power consumption in electronics.

Snow, Ice and rain this season and it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop. Make sure you prepared with pre-made kits or make your own. Check these out online  or stop by in your local store for one. You can always make your own, by starting off with a backpack and then filling it up with a Basic First Aid Kit, Granola Bars, Bottled Waters, Multi-tool, Duct Tape, Flashlights, batteries, blanket(s) and more. Just make sure to mark the dates and rotate the food/water supply.

Value of the day is continuing for Walmart.com. Click here and save it to check out daily.

I’m going to look at doing this quick style post more often. If there’s something you want to see covered, let us know by posting a question, comment or concern.

 Thanks
-Friday

One of my favorite holiday traditions is hanging out with my family and watching our favorite new movies as well as some of the oldies but goodies.  We like to watch both action and comedy movies. My mom and I like the chick flicks that bring us to tears, so we try to watch those alone so my three brothers don’t make fun of us for being softies! 

This year I hope that those of you similar to me and my family jump into high def with some of the great values we have on Blu-ray players. Wondering how to pick the right one? Well, here are my thoughts on this week’s deals--hope it helps you choose!

Of course the day-after Thanksgiving event on the Magnavox Blu-ray Player at $78 is great for those families who are only looking for the picture and sound enhancement that Blu-ray offers. It’s really for those just looking to jump into Blu-ray for the first time and we’re excited to have such a great price to help save them money on their investment in family time!

The Sony Blu-ray Player offers all the same stuff, but tacks on BD-Live content to be delivered to the player via the internet.  (This content hasn’t been that exciting yet but has lots of potential like games, interactive chatting, etc, with new movies coming out.) It also makes it much easier for the upgrades to be delivered to the player, which happens usually a couple times a year. Actually, this player will be $118 for the day-after Thanksgiving event, instead of $148 which is what is in our printed ad, so it’s a super bonus for our customers! This makes it the best value in my mind for a new Blu-ray customer.

Finally, if you’re looking for a player that has all the bells and whistles I suggest the Samsung Blu-ray player at $148, available at that price during this Saturday’s in store event. It has all the same features of the Sony player but adds the streaming content from Netflix, Pandora, YouTube, and Blockbuster. So whether you want to watch a movie, stream a movie, or jam out to some music, this player can do it!

I know my holiday is going to be experienced in high def, is yours? 

 About a month ago in my post about our new Straight Talk wireless program, I had touched on our desire to deliver savings to our customers that drives many of the initiatives we develop.  Not simply to save money but to deliver value on the brands and services that Americans want most.  We know that most of our customers are having to watch the checkbooks closely, so giving them brand they want at unbeatable prices is the challenge that keeps us working hard here on the Walmart Wireless team.  

Even amidst the tough economy, a major trend that has emerged is the growth of the smart phone segment of wireless phones.  While the new Android devices and the launch of the Apple iPhone 3G S series have certainly done their part to add new customers, the number one brand remains BlackBerry.  Because of this demand, Walmart currently carries over a dozen unique BlackBerry devices at prices ranging from $0.00 to roughly $150 across all four national carriers.

Based upon the two corollaries above (Customers want to save money and Customers want BlackBerry phones), I am happy to announce that beginning this Saturday for one week only every customer that purchases a BlackBerry phone with a two year contract will receive a $100 Walmart Gift Card.  The $100 Gift Card is on top of our already aggressive prices and is available with New Contracts, Family Plan Add-a-Lines, and Qualified Upgrades.  For more details on the offer visit: http://www.walmart.com/holidaysavings.

Every year the National Basketball Association honors only six individual players with annual awards.  Along with the Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, and the Rookie of the Year, the NBA awards the Most Improved Player Award (formerly known as the Comeback Player of the Year).  As the name implies, the award is given to the player that has made the largest single season improvement in play.  For example, in the 2007-2008 season Hedo Turkoglu scored and rebounded well above his career average to earn the honor…and then the next season helped to lead his team to the NBA Championship Series. 

In professional basketball, with its hundreds of players, it is not difficult to find a handful of players whose intense focus and renewed work ethic propel their game; however, in the wireless phone realm, this type of reinvention is difficult to come by.  Yet with the release of its first two Android-based Smartphones this week, Motorola is putting its name in the hat for the Most Improved Player of the Year. 

On November 2nd Motorola will release its T-Mobile device the Cliq.  The Cliq’s claim to fame is the MotoBlur service that is built on top of the Android platform.  MotoBlur is a service that helps to aggregate content, and is particularly useful in managing multiple social networks, by putting all of the information you determine you want on the desktop.  I have been testing this device for a couple weeks, and it highlighted just how inconvenient it was with my previous phones to search through news stories or view Facebook status updates.  The Cliq will be available at $148 with either a new agreement or qualified upgrade.

Then, the mystery is solved on Friday, November 6^th with the launch of the Verizon Droid.  As you have most likely seen, the positioning of the Droid has been targeted at the current king of iconic devices.  The Droid has been built with the latest version of Android that enables some pretty cool functions like Text-to-Speech navigation with Google maps.  In addition to the software enhancements, the hardware on the Droid is top notch as well – sporting a 5 megapixel camera, a full physical keyboard, and a 3.7” hi-res display.  The Droid will be available at $198 with either a new agreement or qualified upgrade.

With the anticipated strong performance this week, I am adding Motorola to my Phone League Fantasy Team!

Next week is a big week at Walmart.  Lots going on across the electronics area.  Straight Talk is launching in our wireless area, Transformers 2 releases, and on October 22nd Windows 7 will launch.

Product will begin setting in stores starting Monday.  There is a street date on all software and computers that have Windows 7 so we cannot sell the product until Thursday, October 22nd.  We will have a lot of activity in the stores Thursday, October 22nd.  If you are an early adopter, many of our stores are open 24 hours so you can come in at midnight to buy a new laptop or the new Operating Software!  We have added several new chassis from HP in stores for the Window 7 launch.  The Windows 7 Operating Systmen is a major improvement from Window Vista and is very user friendly.  Also, many of the suppliers have worked to reduce the amount of time it takes to boot up the system for the first time which makes the experience that much better.

On Thursday, you can also head to walmart.com and you will see a whole lot of Windows 7 information as well as product and a video clip showcasing some of the changes.

We are excited to partner with Microsoft as well as our Suppliers to bring you this new system and products.  Let us know what you think of the Operating Sytem with your comments.