AppleInsider reports that Apple will be bringing mini “store-within-a-store” setups to 25 different Target locations around the country.

The initial opening would be a small start, given that Target, the second-largest discount retail chain in the US, operates 1752 stores in the US. Apple has opened 359 of its own retail stores globally, 245 of which are in the US.

Apple is likely just testing the waters with Target, which should ultimately help expand their reach in the retail space. Apple already does this at the largest electronics retail outlet, Best Buy, with around 600 mini “Apple Shops” that have been met with great success.

Apple will presumably focus on iOS devices at first — iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and iPod touch — as well as their standalone music players like the iPod Classic and iPod Nano.

Source: AppleInsider

Don’t ask why now, don’t ask why 32GB, just know that if you want to BOGO (buy-one-get-one-free) a 2010 iPhone 4 — again — head on over to Best Buy.

Buy the Apple® iPhone® 4 32GB and get one FREE. Choose from Verizon or AT&T.

In-store only. Stores open Friday, 10:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. 2-year activation required on each phone.¹

While you’ll still end up paying thousands of dollars over the course of those contracts, and may well decide an iPhone 4S has better overall value in the long run, if you’re strapped for up-front cash now, it’s a good deal.

Source: Best Buy, thanks Gregg!

Itching to purchase a new electronic gadget or accessory and wish you could shop from the comfort of your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad? Whether you’re looking to buy a bigger screen TV, some speakers, or even a brand new iPad, there are a ton of apps for just exactly that. Here are some of our favorites.

Amazon Mobile

Everyone who is familiar with online shopping knows that Amazon is one of the primary for just about anything, including electronics. With Amazon Mobile, you can shop for your latest gadget with ease from your iPhone or iPad. Additionally, you can shop for a friend or family member’s a wish list or add items to your own.

Out and about and wish to compare the price of an item in a retail store with Amazon? Scan the barcode with Amazon Mobile to instantly search for the item. Once you place your order, you can also track its status in anticipation for its arrival.

• Free – App Store link

Apple Store

The Apple Store, online or retail, should be your first stop when shopping for Apple products, and the Apple Store app should be your first tap when shopping from your iPhone. In addition to online shopping, you can reserve items for in-store pickup, track your orders, and schedule appointments at the Genius Bar.

While visiting an Apple Store location, you can even purchase accessories on your own with EasyPay, request help, check in for reservations, and meet up with a Specialist at the store. Unfortunately, the Apple Store app is not a universal app, so there’s no optimized version for the iPad. (Get on that, Apple!)

• Free – App Store link

Best Buy

If you have a Best Buy nearby, I’m sure it’s one of your primary locations for picking up anything related to electronics. With the Best Buy app, you can do your shopping from the comfort of your iPhone. Now, if you need an HDMI cable for your Apple TV, you may be wondering why you’d want to shop for that with an app and wait for shipping when you can just drive a few miles down the road and pick it up now. Well, with the Best Buy app, you can verify that your local store has the item in stock, purchase it ahead of time, then head into the store and pick it up in person. You can also look up the Best Buy trade-in value for your Wii, Xbox, Sony and other video games. Shop smarter, not harder.

• Free – App Store link

Ebay

With the eBay apps for iPhone and iPad, you can can bring the word’s largest marketplace with you wherever you go. And as all eBay shoppers know, this can be an essential asset to eBay shopping because you will receive instant alerts when you are outbid or when auctions are ending. In addition to shopping with the eBay app, you can sell your own items and upload photos directly from your iPhone or iPad’s camera.

• Free for iPhone – App Store link
• Free for iPad – App Store link

Newegg Mobile

Looking to build a new PC or upgrade your iMac’s ram? Newegg is likely your first stop for computer hardware or software purchases. With Newegg Mobile, you can shop from your iPhone – read reviews, view photos, and make purchases. You can also keep up with the latest deals, even when out and about.

• Free – App Store link

Your favorite electronics catalog?

So there you have them, our top 5 best electronics shopping apps for iPhone and iPad. Be sure to check out our other Top 5 picks, our Picks of the Week, and iPhone App and Games Forum for more recommendations, and if we missed any of your favorites leave them in the comments below!

For today only, and in store only, Best Buy is offering qualified buyers last year’s iPhone 4 at 32 GB capacity on BOGO (buy one, get one free) on either the Verizon or AT&T networks.

Buy the Apple® iPhone® 4 32GB and get one FREE. Choose from Verizon or AT&T.

In store only. Stores open today 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. 2-year activation required on each phone.¹

If you can live without Siri, the improved camera, and the better antenna, head on over to the big blue box and bring ‘em home.

Every week a few of us from team TiPb will bring you our current favorite, most fun and useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they’re iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch related, they’re fair game.

To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

Where’s My Water? – @chrisoldroyd

I don’t play that many game on my iPhone but this little gem has me addicted. Where’s My Water? is a physics type game where you have to guide water past loads of different obsticals. The idea is to fill Swampy the alligators bath by guiding the water through the pipes into his bathroom.

The game has literally hundreds of levels with many different challenges along the way. From algae, toxic ooze, triggers and traps. The graphics are crisp and designed for the retina display and the soundtrack isn’t bad either. Where’s My Water? is a universal binary and works great with the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

[$0.99 – App Store link]

Path – @iMuggle

I had never been a user of Path before it got its recent update. I’d actually never even heard about it. Boy am I hooked now. Path is an absolutely gorgeous social networking app. I think most of the reason for this is that it’s only developed for mobile. There’s no website to log in to from a computer, just download the app to your iPhone or Android and start creating your path.

The overall feel and interface of the app is what makes it so enjoyable to use. They also include filters for your pictures within the app with additional ones you can purchase. I like that I can edit and filter a picture without having to jump into another app. I’m also enjoying that I can share something on Path and it will automatically share it to Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare for me. I’ll take any chance I can to get away from the disaster that is the Facebook for iPhone app.

And quite honestly, I’m really enjoying Path more than I’ve enjoyed any social networking site. So come on, everyone get on it so I don’t have to check Facebook at all anymore.

[Free - App Store Link]

Notica – @sethclifford

We all know and love apps like Evernote that allow you to document almost everything in your world, and there’s no shortage of productivity criteria that they strive to meet, but I think there’s still a place for more refined app experiences with a different kind of style. Notica is one of those apps. Instead of trying to do everything, it does a few things nicely and in a concise way, opting for a different visual metaphor than you might be used to on the iPhone.

The basis of the app is notecards, which consist of a few pieces of information; a date/time stamp, location, picture or video, and some text. When you capture these pieces of info, the app creates a nice little card for you, which you can then file in different piles of your choosing. The main focus of the app experience is quickly capturing a small moment contextually that you’d like to remember for any reason. For instance, if you’re an artist, you may have seen a color or texture that you want to revisit at a later time, or perhaps you just want to make a note about a restaurant you want to try. You could snap a picture, stamp a location, and just write “try this place”. Notica creates a little card, you stick it in your “Places to Eat” pile, and you’re done. Lovely. If (and I’m showing my age) you’ve ever taken a Polaroid instant picture and written on the bottom white piece of the photo, you get the idea. Of course, you can’t geo-tag those, but it was a simpler time… so zip it.

Naturally, me being the kind of guy I am, I’m thinking about export and backup options. Currently for sharing, you can email and post to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. To save the note for yourself, you can save it out to your camera roll. With Photo Stream, this may be enough for most people, providing you open up iPhoto and make sure you’re saving into an album there. You can also create a backup file within the app that can be synced through iTunes (and restored the same way), but let’s be honest, that’s not a terrific experience. I reached out earlier this week to ask the developers about sync possibilities in the future, and while they do not have any immediate plans for Dropbox integration (sad Seth) they are working on integrating iCloud in a future release and told me they will be posting about it shortly. So hopefully we’ll have a nice, easy way to both backup and sync or share the notecards soon enough.

I realize that for a lot of people, this app may fall short because it doesn’t do all the things something like Evernote can. But I think it’s still a great app for a very focused task, and it’s stylish to boot. With iCloud additions, it will definitely earn a place on my phone in the long term.

[$1.99 - iTunes link]

Naturespace – @andrewwray

Ever needed to clear your mind and just relax? Or maybe you’re trying to get some work done and need some nice ambient sound to help you focus. Enter Naturespace: Relax Meditate Escape Sleep. Naturespace provides ambient sounds and touts “Holographic Audio” to provide the listener with cyristal-clear 3D sound through your headphones or Apple earbuds.

I’ve been using Naturespace for a few weeks to help with a few different activities, namely meditation and writing. Whenever I feel like I’m not in an adequate mood or environment for writing my thoughts down in my journal or for TiPb, I just whip out Naturespace and within minutes I’m focused, honed and ready to go.

Naturespace utilizes Apple’s In-App Purchases feature to offer up a number of additional sounds outside of the six default options for you to relax to. My personal favorite is the ‘Summer Mountain Valley’. So whether you need a five-minute escape from the stresses of life, or just want to put on some background sound to ease the atmosphere, Naturespace is a great pick!

[Free -- App Store Link]

Tiny Tower – @JorjLim

I’m normally not a fan of freemium games. I don’t like playing one and then getting to a certain part of the game where you can’t continue without forking out lots of real money. Tiny Tower, is a freemium game, that sports classic 8bit graphics, and doesn’t require you to pay any real world money to progress, and above all, its extremely difficult to put down. The main objective of Tiny Tower is to build more floors and make lots of money. Simple objectives, but painfully addictive.

Each floor (creative, services, food, retail and recreation) can stock 3 types of items that take various amounts of real world time, from 2 minutes to many many hours! Each item, makes you money for sales, to help progress your tower. The last type of floor you can build is residential, which houses the staff for the other floors.

The freemium part of this game is through “Tower Bux” which you can buy with actual money, however, while you play the game you will find you’ll actually make more ‘tower bux’ than you expect. You get one everytime you build a new floor, occasionally for stocking a full shop, and for finding certain guests in your tower.

There are lots of real world references in the game as well, like certain guests who are dressed as red and green italian plumbers, and a retail store called “The Mapple Store”.

The game uses Apple’s GameCenter to connect you with your friends, who’s towers you can visit, and compete with. It also uses GameCenter to save your progress, and redownload it if you ever choose to delete the game.

Its an extremely fun and addictive game and because its free, you’ve really got nothing to lose, just give it ago. Tiny Tower is available for iPhone and iPad for free.

[Free - App Store link]

Flick Homerun – @skeetobite

Flick Homerun is your chance to participate in your own home run derby. Starting off in the minor leagues, using your finger as the bat, you simply try to hit the ball over the wall. As you progress can can increase your batting eye, contact ability, or power. You also unlock additional pitches type, including things like fast balls, balls that slow down, move up and down, and even things like ninja balls! You can also unlock other game modes – including the major leagues, game center or local multiplay, and moonshot mode. I have been addicted to this game for about two weeks now, and it doesn’t show any signs of letting up! It’s a great casual game that you can sit and play for 5 minutes or (in my case) an hour or so at a time.

[$0.99 - App Store link]

Best Buy – @jdipane

When looking to make a new purchase I tend to over research, I look at all the competition, and usually change my mind about 80 times. Doing this in the store can be a pain with sales people breathing down your neck, so I like to research from home, and only venture out once it is time to make the purchase. Recently the Best Buy app got a pretty large upgrade, and it made the application so much better. Now showcasing open box items from various stores, a much cleaner layout, the ability to set custom notifications and more, this is a must have application, especially going into the holiday season!

[Free - App Store link]

Infinity Blade II – @reneritchie

A predictable choice and a necessary one — Infinity Blade II takes what was already the best looking game on iPhone and iPad and raises the bar. Considerably. Phenomenally. Yes, I wish they took some of that time and attention devoted to ray renders and leaf physics, and spent a little of it on removing the rails. That restriction, that repetitiveness aside, Infinity Blade II is quite literally candy for your eyes.

Part II is much like the original, and how you feel about that will depend on how you felt about the original. If you loved it and wanted more of the same but better, you’ll be extremely happy. Extremely. If you didn’t like the original, you’ll think this is even more sizzle, still not enough steak.

For me, Infinity Blade fantastic enough looking and easy enough playing that I can break it out, hack the slash out of a bad guy for a few minutes, and then go back about my business. And if anyone asks me about gaming on iOS, all I have to do is show them Infinity Blade — the new one now — and then wait for their jaw to close again.

Universal app, so you can buy once and play on both iPhone and iPad.

[$6.99 - App Store link]

Gift Plan – @llofte

Shopping for Christmas gifts is a huge and daunting task that I both love and hate doing each year. I love it because shopping is fun and buying things for loved ones is rewarding. I hate it because I always wait until the last minute, forgot who I’m buying gifts for, lose track of how much money I’ve spent, and walk into the mall with no plan of action. Not this year. This year, I’ve got Gift Plan in my pocket.

Gift Plan is a fantastic little iPhone app made by the UI geniuses over at Glasshouse Apps. It allows you to create a list of people you buy gifts for and create occasions for them like birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, or graduations. When the occasion is approaching, Gift Plan will send you a reminder notification so that you don’t forget to buy them a gift.

For each person on your list, you can record their sizing information, their likes and dislikes, and create a list of gift ideas and the prices for said gifts. Purchase something off the list? Mark it off and Gift Plan will keep a running total of how much you’ve spent on that person.

This is a just small taste of what Gift Plan does and the best part part is that the UI is amazingly beautiful. Even if you’re not one to keep explicit lists like these, Gift Plan will make you want to.

Happy shopping!

[$2.99 - App Store link]

Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker by MyFitnessPal – @jeremyeguzman (Reader’s Choice)

My Fitness Pal, by MyFitnessPal LLC, is a Calorie Counter and Diet Tracker. In between the two biggest feasting holiday’s of the year, is an excellent time to check out this intuitive app. The downfall of most of these apps is they are difficult to input your daily intake and don’t offer enough flexibility to adapt to your life style. MFP does all of this and more, including cloud synchronization to their servers, weigh-in’s with graph, social integration allowing you to friend and message those people that keep you motivated, and a diary that shows you a breakdown of your daily nutrition intake. Did I mention that you can also scan the barcode of your food for quick and easy input? But what’s the best part? IT’S FREE! No ads, no trimmed down features requiring an upgrade… its just plain ole’ free! Keep track of what you eat daily and be amazed at how quickly you’ll lose weight or reach your fitness goals.

[Free - App Store link]

Your pick?

You’re part of the team as well, so we will be choosing one reader to make a submission each week! Just look for the announcement on twitter or our Facebook page each weekend for a chance to be picked! In the meantime, jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

Best Buy has released a new advert for the holidays called “Everything Apple at Best Buy”, and it’s aimed squarely at poaching potential Apple purchasers. Best Buy has Apple Stores within a store idea and is aimed at letting its customers know that they sell all of Apple’s products too.

The advert starts off with a sales representative demonstrating a FaceTime call with an iPad 2. The customer says she didn’t know that Best Buy had all of the Apple products. See where this is going? It ends with Santa about to leave his presents under her tree however she has already bought the complete Best Buy Apple inventory; and it’s under the tree already!

Source: YouTube

A photograph of an internal Best Buy retail calendar screenshot may give us the best clue yet as to the launch day of the iPhone 5. The event in question is an Apple fixture installation and is scheduled for October 21st. The date in question is a Friday which would line up with other iPhone release days.

This not a normal fixture installation either according to a tipster who talked to This is my next. The request for a manager to be on hand at 6am is not the norm and is a mirror image of what happened when the iPhone 4 was launched last year. The tipster also went on to say that Best Buy managers have a meeting scheduled for October 10 to discuss upcoming releases.

TiPb recently heard that an original release date of October 14 was being moved up to October 7. Whether it’s now been moved back again, this time to October 21 we’re not certain, but because Apple doesn’t pre-announce products, they’re free to adjust the exact date up until even invitations go out and their executives take the stage.

I still expect an announcement of the iPhone 5 at the end of this month with a mid October release. Either way, I am now sick of suffering with an iPhone 4 that is out of warranty. Anyone else tired of waiting for iPhone 5 already?

UPDATE: Boy Genius also got their hands on a Best Buy screen today, this one pointing to a possible first week of October launch for iPhone 5, similar to what TiPb heard a few weeks ago. They also seem to indicate Sprint will be one of the launch carriers, which has been another of the big rumors circulating lately. All of this, again, claims to be subject to change.

[This is my Next, BGR]

It’s looking more and more like this Wednesday, April 27 is the day the [white iPhone 4](http://www.imore.com/tag/white-iphone-4/] finally arrives, at least in UK and the US. We’ve already seen Vodafone jump the gun on selling, and now 9to5Mac has some shots of Best Buy US in stock dates.

If that’s the case, hopefully Apple will confirm with a press release on Monday. (That they’ve waited this long is the only thing that gives me pause — manufacturing and distribution could still be a challenge.)

If it is Wednesday, are you relieved you can finally get one, or that you’ll finally stop hearing about it?

[9to5Mac]

If a leaked image on Engadget is accurate, Best Buy really was stocking up on iPad 2 for a big promotion this weekend — Sunday to be precise. Apparently iPad 2 will be featured on the front cover of their ad, they expect it to bring a lot of traffic into their stores, and they want to have at least a few iPad 2s on hand. Reservations will be honored first, and there’s probably nowhere near stock enough to meet demand. In fact, they go so far as to give employees tips on how to “minimize customer disappointment”, so get their early if you want one and let us know if you get it!

[Engadget]

A reader of CrunchGear, who works for Best Buy, said that Best Buy was holding off on selling the iPad 2’s it had in stock, telling customers there weren’t any available. In fact they were in stock but allegedly Best Buy had just reached its sales quota for the day and wanted to hold further sales over to another day. As a result Apple is rumored to have pulled all stock of iPad 2’s from Best Buy stores with the exception of display models.

The Best Buy employee also told CrunchGear that Apple’s Tim Cook was involved in the decision and that further discussions would be taking place to rectify the situation. Until then, Best Buy would not be selling the iPad 2.

It will be interesting to see how this one pans out, if it turns out to be true. Best Buy Online still show the iPad 2 however it is not available for home delivery or in-store collection. Have any of our readers been to a Best Buy over the last couple of days to pick up an iPad 2? Let us know if you noticed anything out of the ordinary!

UPDATE: Best Buy has responded: [BGR]

“Best Buy continues to receive iPad 2 inventory from Apple on a regular basis. As we’ve said previously, we are fulfilling customer reservations first. Our stores have been asked to temporarily hold non-reserved iPad 2 inventory for an upcoming promotion. This is a customary practice for us when there are supply constraints. Best Buy enjoys a great partnership with Apple, and we’re delighted by customer response to iPad 2.”

[CrunchGear]

Forbes suggests Best Buy might be getting ready to roll out iPads to it’s 1,100 store strong salesforce.

A source with knowledge of corporate mobile device deployments tells Forbes that one of the country’s top 10 largest retailers expects to distribute iPads to each of its on-floor sales associates. This retailer, the source adds, operates 1,100 stores across the U.S. As the country’s largest electronics retailer — as well as a retailer that currently operates around 1,100 stores in the U.S. — Best Buy is a natural match.

I was at a restaurant yesterday and the waiter brought out an iPad to show us the dessert selection. Big screen, great looking photographs, and cool use of technology. Dessert required only static pictures, however. Best Buy could have fully interactive and connected product apps or web apps where they could show off use cases, fetch specs, demo recommended installations, etc.

Aside from just selling Best Buy tens of thousands of iPads, the advantages for Apple are clear. If Best Buy employees are using iPads, they’ll better be able to articulate iPads to their customers, and mainstream customers might just be more likely to gravitate towards the iPads they see being used rather than competing tablets that are simply on the shelves. Added to Apple Retail, that’s a huge presence.

Would you like to see your local Best Buy associate wielding an iPad?

[Forbes via MacRumors]

Well folks the mythical and elusive white iPhone 4 is popping up yet again and this time as a shelf price at Best Buy. According to Engadget they received pictures from a Houston area Best Buy which shows a shelf price tag of $599.99 for an AT&T 16GB white iPhone 4 off-contract (same price as the black version).

The white iPhone 4 has been popping up in news a lot lately and it seems as if evidence of its arrival into users hands (hopefully soon) is getting stronger and stronger. It feels a little late into the game but there are still new users and users who will be willing to make the switch from black to white to get access to this seemingly mythical device. Will you be one of them or are you just waiting for the iPhone 5?

[ Engadget ]

If you purchase your iPhones or iPads from Best Buy, you may be interested in checking out their new Buy Back program. In a letter sent out to current Best Buy Reward Zone customers, they’ll be announcing the new program during the Super Bowl this coming Sunday (third quarter to be exact).

It appears Best Buy will tell you exactly how much they’ll give you for your gadget when you purchase it. When you are ready to trade in your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch (or any other gadget for that matter), you’ll get a Best Buy gift card instantly for the fixed buy back amount. It’s a nice little gesture to loyal customers. Here is part of the e-mail sent to customers:

Buy Back is essentially “future-proofing” your technology. You purchase the technology you want today, and we’ll buy it back at a set price when you’re ready to upgrade to something new. You’ll know upfront what your gear will be worth, and you can conveniently redeem your Buy Back at our stores and immediately receive a Best Buy Gift Card.

It remains to be seen how much they’ll offer you for certain gadgets. My guess is whatever it is, you’ll still make out better selling your previous generation gadgets on eBay or Craigslist. It’s still a nice option for customers who don’t want to deal with the hassle of selling off old gadgets themselves.

Is this something you guys would utilize or do you think they’ll offer amounts that won’t really be worth it?

Best Buy announced today that they will be carrying the much anticipated Verizon iPhone 4 beginning February 10.

The iPhone 4 is an important device for Best Buy and we are excited to help Apple and Verizon Wireless bring it to even more consumers,” said Shawn Score, president of Best Buy Mobile. “Our customers have come to expect Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores to carry the best selection of mobile phones anywhere, and offering the iPhone 4 on Verizon’s network is our latest effort to deliver on that promise.

Anyone planning to head to Best Buy to purchase the iPhone 4 on Verizon?

[BBY]

The white iPhone 4 has shown up in Best Buy and Vodafone Germany’s order processing systems with an availability date of February 27.

Of course these hints are always hit and miss as retailers sometimes create placeholder entries based on the same type of rumors you read right here on TiPb so take this with a white iPhone 4 sized grain of salt.

Apple’s only official word on the White iPhone 4 has been “coming this spring” so February might be a touch early. However with the Verizon iPhone set to ship on February 10 and an iPhone 5 almost certainly following in June the window for a white iPhone 4 is already very small. (Even Leanna has gone after market!)

What do you think, will we finally see the white iPhone 4 soon and if so, too late or better late than never?

[MacRumors, Engadget]

If you still haven’t purchased an iPad for yourself or a loved on for this holiday season Best Buy is making it a little bit more enticing by offering iPad buyers a free Mi-Fi from your choice of AT&T, Sprint or Verizon. Of course you will have to sign up for a 2 year commitment for the data to use with the Mi-Fi from either of the three companies but if you wanted data anyways why not get the free Mi-Fi to start it off with!

If you remember Verizon has been selling the iPad + Mi-Fi bundle since October and the 16GB iPad with Mi-Fi starts at $629.99 from them. From Best Buy you will get the same package for $499. No matter what retailer you go through for a bundle like this having a data contract is standard so with the holiday season it seems like a great idea to hit up Best Buy for your bundle and save yourself $130 which you could then use on iPad accessories over at the TiPb Accessory Store! [Cheap plug!]

If you end up getting this bundle let us know how it works out for you in our comments section.

[ 9To5 Mac ]

BGR has received word from a tipster that Best Buy will be offering Apple’s iPhone 3GS to customers for free. This particular offer will only be valid tomorrow, December 10th, and is available to customers who are looking to start new lines, additional lines, or use their qualified upgrades.

So if you are in the market to fetch yourself a free iPhone you might as well take a ride to your local Best Buy retailer tomorrow and pick one up.

[BGR]

iPad may be cannibalizing laptop sales by as much as half according to Best Buy CEO, Brian Dunn:

Mr. Dunn also said internal estimates showed that the iPad had cannibalized sales from laptop PCs by as much as 50%

It will be interesting to see how much, if at all, they cannibalize iPod and MacBook purchases, and if they’re in it for the long haul or the cannibalization stops when most of the people who want an iPad get one.

[Wall Street Journal]

TiPb iPhone Forum user shaolinfinest let us know last night, and many others have since confirmed, that Best Buy was starting to give away InvisibleShielf protective side films for iPhone 4:

I’m not sure if this has been discussed but Best Buy is starting to receive Zagg kits called “iPhone 4fix” or something like that. Basically Zagg sent us a bunch of invisishield sides to put on customers iPhone 4′s and they are free. The only disclaimer on the kit is that it says shield and install is free but install is up to the associate if they want to put it on or not. Before going in, call your local Best Buy if you are like me and don’t want to put a case on it. I installed the sides today and it was easy to put on and feels ok so far.

Whether or not InvisibleShield provides any protection from signal loss if you’re prone to such things in your area is debatable, but it’s interesting to see how other retailers are competing with Apple’s free bumper program.

Speaking of which, the TiPb iPhone 4 store has the full on front-and-back-protecting InvisibleShield and BodyGuardz in stock, and the Case-Mate Clear Armor available for pre-order. Just don’t use as much liquid to apply it as Dieter did…

We’ve also started to hear that folks are receiving their free Apple bumpers, in some cases a month or more ahead of the previously suggested delivery date. Those who asked for 3rd party cases instead haven’t had any such luck so far.

Of course, Apple’s free bumpers are pretty much restricted to black, and the TiPb iPhone 4 store has more cases in more colors than you can shake a gyro at, so check out Leanna going red, or pick out a color all your own.

See Apple and Best Buy, you don’t get to have all the fun!

[Okay, that was snarky enough to earn a "sponsored" tag]

The iPhone 4 pre-order madness has come and gone. The big news, other than AT&T and Apple selling out of pre-orders and AT&T having yet another huge security flaw, was that not only were the rumors that AT&T will not have the white iPhone 4 available for pre-order true, but it’s true in Apple’s case as well.

I, for one, was angry completely shocked when I learned Apple did not have the white version available. My heart was set on buying a white iPhone 4. Apple’s website said:

White iPhone currently unavailable for pre-order or in-store pick-up.

TiPb has received reports on Twitter and our forums that Best Buy is allowing customers to pre-order white iPhones. However, we’re skeptical and don’t exactly believe that Best Buy will be able to honor these reservations. Apple wouldn’t ship white iPhones to Best Buy over their own stores, would they?

I very briefly considered waiting for the white iPhone 4 to be available, but quickly realized that I don’t have the patience required to wait. I reserved a black iPhone 4 for pick-up and have a small glimmer of hope that Apple Stores will, in reality, have a tiny stock of white ones available on June 24.

What about you? Were you planning to pre-order a white iPhone 4? Are you going to wait until they become available? Did you decide to reserve a black one instead hoping for news of white becoming available? Or did you say “oh well” and pre-order a black one to be delivered to your home?

TiPb among others are getting word that, contrary to previous reports, non-Apple Store retail locations like Best Buy and Radio Shack may not be taking pre-orders starting tomorrow.

Look, these things are usually chaos personified, with execs jostling back and forth with Apple, upper and middle management never properly communicating with employees in the stores and on the floor, and everyone and their CSR hearing conflicting stories that change by the minute.

Bottom line, we won’t know anything for sure until tomorrow. If you’re desperate to pre-order tomorrow, Apple Online will surely be open to take your business. Everything else is a crapshoot. Bide your time and take your chances.

If anyone does manage to score a non-Apple pre-order, let us — and each other — know in the comments.

Engadget points out that Best Buy has just sent out a press release stating that they will be offering up iPhone 4 pre-sales starting tomorrow, June 15th. Of course you will have to take a ride to your local Best Buy location as the pre-ordering is not allowed on their website.

“Beginning June 15, Best Buy Mobile, the mobile specialty retail unit of Best Buy Co. Inc (NYSE: BBY), launches its pre-sale of iPhone 4 from Apple. Pre-sale orders can be placed at any Best Buy or Best Buy Mobile standalone store nationwide. The iPhone 4 will land in Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores June 24.”

So now you have two choices for tomorrow if you are planning on pre-ordering. How many of our readers plan on visiting a Best Buy tomorrow?

Sound off in the comments below!

[Engadget]

We already know Best Buy’s in-store Apple boutiques will be selling iPad’s come April 3, but an anonymous tipster has sent us this internal note with more info how the big blue box is handling the launch-day training. No huge surprises, of course, but we’re in the final week so every little bit of hype counts.

• Best Buy employees can’t purchase iPads on April 3, those are for customers.
• Best Buy employees can order them from Apple Employee Purchase online store, with no discount, for delivery on April 3 (they’ll get their usual break on accessories, however).
• Learning Lounges modules for employee training should hit tomorrow, March 28. 2 iPad eLearnings need to be passed, iPad Overview and iPad Selling. Demo, Content Installation & Device Security are coming April 3.
• Apple will offer local classrooms for Apple Experts in 22 cities including Boston, NYC, Reston, Atlanta, Miami, Cincinnati, Nashville, Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Denver, Omaha, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, LA North, LA South, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Honolulu.

Anyone eschewing the Apple Retail Store in hopes of more easily scoring an iPad at Best Buy?

According to Mac Rumors, Best Buy is gearing up for Apple’s iPad launch on April 3rd. The retail chain is providing its employees with details leading up to launch day and stores are expecting display materials early next week. Not every Best Buy will carry the device, however. Only the stores with Apple shop sections will be lucky enough to sell iPads at launch. If you do plan on making a purchase at Best Buy on April 3rd be aware none of their stores will be opening early.

In other iPad sales news, 9to5Mac points out Amazon.com also seems to be prepping for iPad sales as well by setting up a placeholder for all three WiFi versions on their site. So while you will not see it on Amazon for sale on day one, it should not be long after.

More choices are better for the consumer, but which choice is best for you? Where will you be picking up your iPad? Let us know in the comments below!

Yeah. Ouch. But that’s what BGR‘s Canadian ninja are reporting. These are Best Buy inventory prices, but it’s hard to imagine Rogers/Fido stores charging less what with the exchange rate and typically Canadian shipping overages added.

Any Canadians (besides me) lining up for an off-contract iPhone 3G S this Friday? Does the price change things? How about those of you getting the full subsidy? Happier now?

So we all know that AT&T, for whatever reason, does not offer insurance for any iPhone. It seems as if Best Buy is now stepping up to the plate to offer it’s customers some iPhone 3G S insurance, Geek Squads Black Tie Protection.

This is great news for some of you but keep in mind it comes at a pretty hefty price. Normal cell phone insurance via Best Buy will cost you anywhere from $7 to $10 a month. Not the case with iPhone 3G S, Best Buy has raised this fee to a cool $15 a month. This premium fee is most likely due to the full retail price of the 3G S being so high at $599 and $699.

Good news is that this insurance will cover all sorts of damage – liquid damage, cracked screens, cracked casing, etc… All you have to do is bring your damaged iPhone into any Best Buy, they will fix it or replace your device on the spot.

So at $15/month is this something you’d be willing to pay for some peace of mind?

[Via Apple Insider]

We are all aware that WWDC is only one week away. If history is any indication of what is to come, that means we should be introduced to the next-generation of Apple’s iPhone and if we follow previous patterns, we should start seeing the iPhone 3G supply starting to run thin on all levels.

AppleInsider is now reporting that Best Buy headquarters has sent out a memo to all of it’s stores saying to expect little to nothing in terms of iPhone 3G supply for the next few weeks. Last year we saw similar shortages but they occurred a few months prior to WWDC, April to be exact.

So, after all the previous rumors covering Austria to Australia, Canada and back what do you readers think? Ready to pick yourself up a new iPhone? Sound off in the comments!

PhoneArena (via Engagdget) was sent a tip that Best Buy has 3 mysterious new product SKU’s listed in their system as “PROJECT CHARLIE”. Why is this important and what does it have to do with iPhones?

ZOMG! We’re 3 weeks before WWDC here people! Everything is iPhone!

Okay, in all fairness, Best Buy is one of the very few big iPhone retailers (aside from Apple, AT&T, and Walmart) and even if they have no direct info from Apple, they could be prepping themselves for a similar launch as last year (iPhone 3G in 8GB, 16GB Black, and 16GB white).

But for the Lost fans among us — 3 SKUs, for the 3rd gen iPhone, 3 weeks before WWDC and iPhone OS 3.0? Cue creepy music

UPDATE: Our friend Phil over at WMExperts, throws in a plot twist: what if they’re new Windows Phones?!

There is a new email promo floating around from Best Buy (got mine last night). Their Reward Zone and Premier Silver members are being offered a pretty enticing discount when purchasing new a iPhone 3G. Here’s how it works: Reward Zone members purchasing a new iPhone 3G will be lucky enough to have $50 knocked off the regular price while Premier Silver members get a even more generous $100 off of a new iPhone 3G.

Keep in mind this offer is only good until Saturday February 28th and you must sign your life away to AT&T for two years. So, if you are out shopping for a brand spanking new iPhone 3G and you’ve been a Reward Zone member before February 21st… head on over to Best Buy!

Before the holidays we reported AT&T started to sell refurbished iPhone 3G’s on their website for $50 less than what you could buy a new device for. Well now it seems Best Buy is taking a page out of AT&T’s book. According to ars technica:

Best Buy will sell a 8GB refurb for $149 and 16GB refurb for $249. These units normally retail for $199 and $299 respectively, and normally ship with a full one-year warranty. The refurbished units will sell with at least a 90-day warranty, and possibly more. You can check the amount of time remaining on your warranty by entering the serial number at Apple’s Online Service Assistant page.

So just like the AT&T refurb deal you now have a choice to make. Save $50 on a used device with a 30 day warranty… Or spend that extra $50 and get a brand new device and a full years warranty.

One more thing to keep in mind, these refurbished devices still require a full 2 year contract commitment. Decisions decisions…

[Via ars technica]

Deja vu all over again it seems. First we heard that the iPhone was going to be sold at Radio Shack, then it was Best Buy, and most recently Wal Mart. Now we have a new player in town bidding for some iPhone love, Costco.

Analyst group Global Equities Research is claiming that the public will see the iPhone 3G head into Costco Wholesale stores across the country this January. To go along with that piece of information they also added that it will see a new low price of $149.99. Could this be a price drop at all stores leading to a 32GB iPhone 3G? Hmmm… Please note that this is to be taken with a grain of salt. Global Equities Research would not name any sources of this information.

I know the more places the iPhone is sold the merrier for Apple, and I get that. I’ve have seen Costco’s cell phone set up and it’s nothing to write home about. So what is your take on Costco selling the iPhone 3g along with this so called price drop? Sound off in the comments!

[Via Appleinsider]

A few weeks back Rene reported that starting September 7th Best Buy would be selling the iPhone 3g. Well that day is rapidly approaching and look what has landed on the cover of next weeks Best Buy’s circular.

AppleInsider reports that Best Buy is having a promotion for customers who purchase one of four accessory packages. Packages start at $106 all the way up to $234. What great deal have they cooked up for you? Free phone and email setup! As Rene would say… ZOMG! Last time I checked, this is something that any Apple store will do for you for free.

Come on Best Buy, surely you can do a better than that?

Finally. Finally! You’ll be able to get your giant-sized HDTV $200 HDMI cables, chocolate frosted sugar bombs, and iPhone 3G all under one big, blue roof!

Yup, Apple Insider rumored yesterday, and now Associated Press has confirmed, Best Buy will begin selling 970 full-size stores and 16 smaller, but recently upgraded Best Buy Mobile stores, come September 7.

Says Shawn Score, president of Best Buy Mobile:

We had a lot of work to do, obviously, to get in a position where Apple and AT&T would feel good about Best Buy Mobile carrying it, and that’s what we’ve done in the last 18 months

Back in late June, Dieter posted about this and the much more frightening rumor of Radioshack getting their “laughing stock” hands on it, so it’s not a total shocker… just as long as the Quickymart doesn’t get it next, b’okay?

I mean, El Jobso still personally authorizes each reseller based on some cosmic alignment of Feng Shui and color swatches, right?

Mobile Mag is reporting that the iPhone 3G may be sold at Radio Shack and Best Buy. Best Buy we can see — Apple’s already been making inroads there. Radio Shack, though, …ugh. Sure, since the iPhone 3G is being sold pretty much just like any other smartphone now, it’s not crazy that it could be sold by any of the usual suspects — Radio Shacks, Mall Kiosks, that one guy down the street who inexplicably has an AT&T store in his garage. But… Radio Shack? Maybe I’m old, but I remember a time when Radio Shack had, you know, electronic parts and wasn’t the laughing stock it is today.

Reconsider, Apple, because if this is true, it may help you reach your target, but it’s not going to do wonders for your image.