Apple has said today that it will begin selling the iPad 2 online at 4am EST tomorrow morning, give buyers a chance to purchase the tablet before it is available in stores.
Apple stores will begin selling the device at 5pm tomorrow.
All of the company’s retail partners, Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Target, will begin selling the tablet at 5pm, as well.
Carriers AT&T and Verizon will do the same.
The iPad 2 adds a dual-core A5 processor, is 33 percent thinner, adds two cameras, new magnetic covers, and some first-party apps like iMovie.
Result for: retail partners
Redbox, the automated DVD rental kiosk company, has announced that they have hired their first “senior level videogames executive,” and plan to expand into video game rentals this summer.
“Our customers and retail partners have been really clamoring for video games, and Redbox is responding,” added Mark Achler, Redbox’s new VP of video games. “We are very actively engaged in putting out a video game offering. There are changing demographics, where we see the casual market continuing to open as more women become involved.”
The tricky part now is pricing. Redbox currently offers $1-a-night pricing for its video rentals, but it is almost a guarantee that the same pricing will not be given to video games, which retail for much more than DVDs and Blu-rays.
Achler added that Redbox will offer two types of kiosks; one with only video games and another with both games and movies. There will be titles for the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii available.
“We think rental really has an opportunity to grow and lift the whole video game sector,” noted Achler.
Result for: retail partners
Sony America has announced it will be dropping the 4GB Memory PSP Entertainment Pack that had been previously scheduled to be released in the US.
The company made the decision “following discussions with our retail partners.”
The latest move means consumers will but one choice for purchasing the new PSP-3000, and that is the Ratchet & Clank Size Matters PSP Entertainment Pack.
PSP director of hardware marketing Jon Koller added that the bundle was dropped because they expected low sales from the bundle after hearing feedback from retailers and customers.
The 4GB Memory Stick Duo will be available separately for $45 USD.
