Wal-Mart iPhone5 and iPad for $127 and $399.-

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jes�s.       

Wal-Mart iPhone5 and iPad4 for $127 and $399.-

Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Friday that it began selling Apple Inc's flagship iPhone 5 smartphone at a big discount in thousands of its stores.

Wal-Mart said it is selling the 16 GB Apple iPhone 5 for $127, versus an original price of $189.97. The price is valid with a two-year contract from wireless carriers Verizon, Sprint and AT&T, the retailer added.

Wal-Mart said it is also selling the 16 GB iPhone 4S and the 16 GB iPad with Retina display and WiFi at discounts.

The offers will be available for 30 days in about 3,000 of Wal-Mart's stores, which were not identified. They are not available online, according to the retailer.

Apple has focused on high-priced, premium gadgets for many years and has strictly enforced its prices with retailers and other distributors. However, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman said on Friday that the discounts were arranged with Apple.

"We worked together with them on this," the spokeswoman, Sarah Spencer, said. "They are a great partner."

Wal-Mart is pricing the iPad starting at $399, down from $499. Beginning December 17 the retailer said it will throw in a $30 iTunes card.

Wal-Mart is selling the 16 GB iPhone 4S for $47, versus an original price of $89.97, it said.

Reuters

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Rumours: Apple to launch thinner iPad 4 this summer.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Rumours: Apple to launch thinner iPad 4 this summer.

According to the Chinese-language Apple Daily, cited by DigitTimes, “The upgraded iPad is said to feature indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) panel technology to allow the device to feature an even thinner design and longer battery life. Panel supply will be shifted from Samsung to Sharp," the paper reportedly said.

The current IPS (in-plane-switching) displays used in the third-generation iPad require more space and more battery power to light up their three-million-pixel canvas to provide a good viewing experience.

IGZO technology, on the other hand, allows for the same results (if not better), with less power consumption, and less space being used. Considering that this would also allow Apple to include a smaller battery pack, the company would be killing two birds with one stone.

According to the Taiwanese trade publication, Samsung supplies 60-70 percent of current iPad panels, leaving the rest for LG Display and Sharp to deal with.

“But as Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) has recently made investments in Sharp, Sharp is expected to see its proportion rise to 50% for the upgraded iPad,” the paper reportedly added, citing its sources.

In other words, Apple has every reason to start mass producing a thinner version of the iPad, as all the hardware requirements are now available in bulk quantities.

Though, it very unlikely that Apple will cut the life of its third-gen iPad short, leaving millions of customers disappointed that summer brought a thinner and lighter version, with the same price tag, only a few months after the debut of the original Retina-capable tablet.

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