FollowThe prices for iPhones and iPads at Wal-Mart have been reduced as people wait for the release of iPhone 5S and 5C. The new iPhone 5, with 16 GB, can now be bought a $98 when one signs for a 2 year contract with Sprint, Verizon and AT&T, as of Friday. Whenever a new product is being launched, manufacturers, carriers and retailers do offer their customers such discounts. Rumors say that on September 19th the iPhone 5S will be released in tandem with a cheaper plastic model, the iPhone 5C.
Leaks have shown that the new phone will come in Gold, black and white, and will have a greater memory capacity. The iPhone 5S is said to have a memory that will be expandable to 128 GB, The phone will also have a new chip, the A7, which will replace the A6. This new chip will have a 64-bit ARMv8. However, for those who cannot afford the new devices, or still cannot wait for the release, then you can get the iPhone 5 from Wal-Mart.
On the other hand, Wal-Mart has also reduced the prices of their iPads by a margin of $50. The iPad that has a Retina Display is now retailing at $449 and the iPad2 for &349. When it comes to the iPhone 4s, most carriers are offering it at a price of $100, upon signing a contract, but this cannot beat the offer on Wal-Mart which is retailing the iPhone 4S at $39, a price decrease of $50.
Apart from the discounts on the Apple products, the retailer is also offering discounts for non-apple products, such as the Samsung Galaxy S4 which is going for $138. It seems that Microsoft is not taking these developments lightly, and has decided to buy out the phone section of Nokia for $7.2 billion. This means that the company will have earned the customer base of current Nokia fans, and this gives it a great platform to bring in Windows phone to this group. Apple and Android have kept Microsoft, and its software, out of the competition when it comes to the majority share of the Smartphone market.
It is doubtable that Microsoft can elicit the same type of excitement that comes with Apple or Samsung products. This can be attributed to several factors, but one seems to be common for both Nokia and Microsoft. When Windows 95 was launched in 1995, people slept outside the stores waiting for the release, and hurriedly bought up the software and the new upgrades. However, there were bugs, and several updates later, people had become bored with it. After 18 years, people have somewhat given up on expecting anything fresh from Microsoft.
Similarly, Nokia, once the powerhouse of mobile telephony, has lost its former glory as a market leader in developing mobile phones. This is the reason why not many people are expecting much even after the buyout. However, let the engineers at Microsoft and Nokia roll up their sleeves and start working; they might still surprise their customers.
