Target discounts iPhone 4, 4S by $50 in store

11600updated 07:05 pm EDT, Mon May 7, 2012 iPhone discounted in Target for a week

Target, which just recently announced it would expand its Apple Store-Within-A-Store (SWAS) program, is now discounting new iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S unite by $50 with a two-year contract, reports 9to5Mac. The new prices in-store offer the iPhone 4 8GB at $50 and the 4S 16GB at $150 with either AT&T or Verizon. The offer does not appear to be on the Target website, may not be available in all retail stores, but does list the promotion as going on through May 12th. The photographs do not mention if the discounting also applies to higher capacity handsets, nor if changing the price plan will affect the handset cost further.

Previously,Target has dropped the price of iPhones in short-run sales in an attempt to clear stocks ahead of a new release or updated model, however an updated iPhone isn't generally expected from the company until later this year.

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Analyst: Apple's Walmart, Target SWAS pilots to grow

0160(0)3updated 03:52 pm EDT, Thu May 3, 2012 Retail outlets to see more space dedicated to Apple

Apple is likely to increase its footprint outside of its existing Apple Stores, according to analysts at Piper Jaffray. The iPhone and iPad maker is looking to expand on pilot projects that have seen Apple "store-within-a-store" (SWAS) popping up in select Walmart and Target stores. Taken nationally, such a move would tremendously expand Apple's retail reach, as the two big box retailers have significantly more rural distribution than does Apple.Apple has 250 retail locations in the United States, as well as specialized Apple sections in about 40 percent of Best Buy's US stores. Of recent, though, Apple has begun begun multiple SWAS projects at two Target locations, as well as one within Walmart. The pilot is expected to expand to 23 more Target stores before the end of the year,

Apple is already well known for a continuing effort to expand its retail reach to new areas, but the potential inherent in partnerships with Walmart and Target -- which operate some 3,800 and 1,700 US, respectively -- far outstrips what Apple could likely accomplish on its own. While iPads and iPhones are a near certainty for the mini-stores, details are fuzzier when it comes to Apple's MacBook line, which Target does not currently sell.

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