iPhone 4 at Wal-Mart on June 24
Latest iPhone won't be confined to Apple and AT&T stores on launch day. Wal-Mart joins Radio Shack and, reportedly, Best Buy, as alternative places to pick up the smartphone.
iPhone 4 goes on sale June 24.
(Credit: James Martin/CNET)Wal-Mart said Friday that it will be one of several retail outlets that will have the iPhone 4 on June 24, its first day of availability anywhere. While Wal-Mart has carried previous versions of the iPhone, this is a first that it will be for sale in its stores on the device's official launch day.
Wal-Mart is not the only alternative to Apple and AT&T, however. It's rumored that Best Buy will have the device on launch day, and Radio Shack employees have begun telling customers they have also been selected to carry the device starting June 24.
It could be a sign of Apple's growing relationship with fellow electronics retailers that it is sharing the launch day spoils. Or, it could be the realization that demand for the iPhone is strong and it wants to offload at least some of the typical crush of people going to stores to buy it the first day.
Apple said on Monday that pre-orders for iPhone 4 will start on June 15. Wal-Mart will be not be offering the same pre-order option.
This post was updated at 10:08 a.m. PDT with Walmart's confirmation that it will not be doing preorders.
