walmart

The father of the iPod creates a cool home thermostat, the Obama campaign joins Tumblr, and Netflix reports its first drop in customers in nearly two years--and it's a doozy.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Facebook is cozying up to major brands in a big way.

The latest is Wal-Mart.

The social-networking giant announced it's teaming up with the world's biggest retailer with an aim to make shopping more local and personal. Together, they introduced "My Local Walmart," a new Facebook app designed to give millions of Wal-Mart shoppers information on their favorite and closest Wal-Mart stores nationwide.

More than 3,500 Wal-Mart store-specific pages are launching on Facebook, allowing consumers to more easily locate the right store nationwide via ZIP code. The app aims to deliver the latest deals, product … Read more

One size daily deals don't fit everyone--not even Groupon.

In an effort to diversify revenue and maintain its rapid growth, Groupon, which has temporarily shelved its $750 million public offering, is fast evolving its business model. Recently Groupon deals have gone mobile, real-time, and location aware.

Today's launch of "Groupon Goods," however, marks the company's most aggressive departure away from its core daily deal offers. With Groupon Goods, the Chicago based company seems to be moving into full-blown e-commerce. If fully realized, that would put the company, valued at $20 billion, head-to-head with online retail … Read more

Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, is very close to becoming the first large merchant to sign up to adopt UltraViolet, the cloud-video platform, sources with knowledge of the talks told CNET.

Ultraviolet (UV) is a set of standards and specifications designed to make approved movies and TV shows play on a multitude of devices. The technology is supposed to lay the groundwork for the next generation of home-video distribution and be the battering ram that crashes into walled gardens--the efforts by some companies to lock up consumers into watching movies on their devices and their video service.

The plan … Read more

NEW YORK--Vudu is making itself available on iPad, a move that will help the streaming-video service expand distribution and keep pace with market leader Netflix.

Vudu said in a joint statement with parent company and retailing powerhouse Wal-Mart Stores that beginning tomorrow iPad owners can access Vudu through their browsers. That's right, this is not an app, so don't look for Vudu in Apple's App store.

Wal-Mart and Vudu said they have created a new "navigation experience" for iPad users who visit the service online. Through the new feature, iPad owners can rent or purchase … Read more

It's without much fanfare that we learned about AT&T's Sharp FX Plus, a rather entry-level Android 2.2 Froyo smartphone that has been available since July 30. Like the Sharp FX before it, the FX Plus is positioned as a messaging phone targeting the younger set. However, it does get an upgrade with Android, and a much rounder body that smooths over some of its predecessor's rough edges.

In addition to a virtual keyboard equipped with Swype, the Sharp FX Plus has a slide-out QWERTY for composing longer texts and messages. The handset supports AT&… Read more

On today's show, Brian Tong offends nearly the entire Internet, so consider that fair warning. HTC is willing to negotiate with Apple, Google is willing to make it easier to get your account back if you're suspended for not using your real name on Google+, and Netflix is willing to lose a bunch of money this quarter in hopes of surviving beyond it.

Cloud-gaming service Gaikai has signed a deal to offer streamed game demos on Walmart.com, VentureBeat reported yesterday.

Integrated into Walmart.com's Game Center retail page, Gaikai will let shoppers sample games for free to help them decide on a purchase. The service is not yet enabled on Walmart.com, but Gaikai CEO Dave Perry was quoted saying: "Over the next 12 months, when people see a video game on TV and want to try it out, they can be sure the fastest way will be on Wal-Mart's Web site."

It's also unclear whether Gaikai … Read more

With barely an hour to go until Apple's WWDC kicks off, Wal-Mart announced that it has cut the price of the 16GB iPhone 4 to $147 from $197.

This offer is good from now until June 30, and it applies to both the black and white models.

You'll need a new line of service from either AT&T or Verizon, plus the obligatory two-year contract. The offer is available only in "select stores," meaning you can't get it online. (Wal-Mart's site currently lists all iPhones as "out of stock.")

Why the … Read more