Okay, so Walmart sells the Nexus 7 (with a free cover), which leads many to wonder the who what when and where of the Nexus 4 at Walmart.
This question is important for those without credit cards and without cell phone carrier contracts. While the Nexus 4 8GB and 16GB are sold-out of the Google Plays store, many are hoping for some new and different options.
T-Mobile online shows the Nexus 4 "out of stock" with a contract. In other words, the Nexus 4 is hot item (see video tips). The Nexus 4 was named one of the best smartphones of 2012 and received excellent reviews. There appears to be several reasons for the out-of-stock state of the Nexus 4.
So far, Walmart doesn't sell the cheaper Nexus 7 model. The only available is the Nexus 7 32 GB model. Walmart did still sell some 16GB when the price change went into effect. The Walmart website now states ", we are out of the Google Nexus 16GB Tablet, and will not be receiving any more." To sweeten the deal Walmart offers the 32 GB Nexus 7 with Free Folio for 249.99. Covers come in Black, Grey pattern, Aqua, Pink and Red. You can get free shipping to store or FedEx office with site to store.
Walmart was previously selling the Nexus 10 in stores.
Currently, Walmart is selling the Nexus S unlocked for $499 which is pretty price to pay for an unlocked smartpthone. Remember the Nexus 4 works best with HSPA+ networks, so your first U.S. carrier choice would be T-Mobile, followed by AT&T.
Here's where Walmart works for the Nexus 4, with its prepaid service StraightTalk which began offering the iPhone 5 back in November a few months after it was released at the major carriers. StraightTalk advertising proclaims "Get Our Plan, Keep Your Phone when you buy a SIM Card."
Buyers of the Nexus 4 from the Google Play Store have successfully used the Straight Talk Plans. We don't think while supplies are limited that Google would release the Nexus 4 to other retailers, yet. However they may release the 16GB Nexus 4 with a higher profit margin through Walmart to Straight Talk.
Unlike the Google Play Store, Striaght Talk offers FREE Ground Shipping on any phone order over $29.99 and has a thirty-day return policy. Straight Talk offers $45 unlimited, text, talk and data. Straight Talk also claims that if you bring your T-Mobile compatible 4G Phone, you can keep your 4G service.
Unlimited data however isn't really unlimited at 2GB, Straight Talk slows down the data connection to very slow. Carriers claim that most people except for a small amount use less than 2GB of data a month. Therefore, Straight Talk could be good deal for any unlocked smartphone that works on its networks.
When Straight Talk started the offering the unlocked iPhone 4 8GB for $449 and 16GB for $649 & it allowed people to finance the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 for $25 a month with a Walmart credit card.
These facts beg the question will Google partner with Walmart to sell Nexus 4 with Straight Talk?
If we follow what happened with Nexus 7, Google could work a deal for the 16GB Nexus model. Google could also have such low stock and keep the Nexus 4 unlocked only available from the Google Play Store.
If we go by Walmart December/Black Friday deals, in which Walmart was giving $100 gift cards for those who bought smartphones with two-year contacts which was not valid for the iPhone. The gift card deal was only valid for in store purchase. We don't expect a gift card deal with a Straight Talk plan or unlocked phone.
Of course the longer it takes to get the Nexus 4 in stock, there is a more likely chance that another brand of smartphone may become available to beat out the Nexus 4. There is also the question of profit most smartphones cost close to $200 to make with higher prices for bigger smartphones. The profit margin for the Nexus 4 is lower than other smartphones that sell for close to $500 unlocked. Therefore Google knows it is a sellers market at the $299 price point and can do whatever it chooses.
What do we know for sure? The market for reasonably priced unlocked smartphones with quad-core processors is growing and everyone is always looking for a good deal.
In the U.K. the demand for Google Nexus 4 was ten times higher than Google expected.