Walmart: Technology Destination

Walmart, retail giant and arguably the Store for the Common Man, is making a push to be a technology leader as well.  At least, when it comes to laptops and desktops.  While other retailers are floundering in the sea of the depressed economy, Walmart continues to post profits.  Everyone is looking for a deal, everyone is looking to squeeze all they can out of what few dollars they have.  And kids are going back to school in a few short weeks, requiring more and more electronics.

And that doesn’t mean we have to buy our kids netbooks.  Not when you can get an HP laptop, running Windows Vista with 3 gigabytes of memory and a 160-gigabyte hard drive, for just $298.  Or for $548, you can pick up an Acer-made Vista laptop with an eight-hour battery, 3 gigabytes of memory and a 320-gigabyte hard drive.

At those prices, every Common Man (and Woman and Child) can have a laptop of their own.

The naysayers believe Walmart cannot provide what people are looking for – expert sales help and assistance after the sale.  But when you can get a laptop for $400 or less, having “expert” sales help is not necessarily a key to a purchase.  The people needing the help will still go to electronics stores for their laptop and desktop purchases, while more tech-savvy and economically-minded individuals will be hitting the local Walmart for laptops for their kids and even themselves.  And these days, more and more people are becoming tech-savvy or know someone who is who can recommend an item for them.  I know, I’m asked all the time what I recommend and where to go.  I’ll likely be adding Walmart to my list of places to pick up discount laptops that will do the job just fine.