The Dow Jones newswire is reporting that Wal-Mart will become the first national third-party retailer for the T-Mobile G1.
The device will be primarily be sold in 550 selected Wal-Mart locations in areas with T-Mobile 3G coverage, with further sales expansion as coverage expands nationwide. Â The G1 was released to highly successful pre sales last month and retail sales last week and continues to sell well. Â
Pricing for the G1 will reflect Wal-Mart’s typical pricing and purchase advantage, as the device will be sold at a $31.11 discount from its $179.99 2 year contract price when purchased through T-Mobile to $148.88 with a new 2 year agreement or qualified upgrade.
Update: PhoneNews.com has learned that the T-Mobile G1 has been delayed from its original launch date of Wednesday to November 3rd due to delays in shipping the needed stock for the launch. Â This was confirmed by a visit to a local SuperCenter location selected to carry the G1, and the associates tasked for the sale confirmed that the device was in fact delayed.Â
When asked about posting a store locator for customers to check availability online, the associates did confirm that one would be available before launch.
Is it possible to find out the Walmart locations the device will be sold at?
Best bet would be to call around locally, or the hard way would be comparing the 3G coverage map and cross-referencing with Google Maps. As an example, all of the Superstores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area will be selling the G1 tomorrow, and the one that I live a mile away from in Fort Worth will also begin selling them.