Anxious Apple fans who weren’t quick enough to place a pre-order before Apple sold out of pre-sales iPad inventory may end up getting their hands on the company’s highly anticipated new tablet well before their fellow buyers. Walmart on Thursday announced that while Apple Stores won’t open until 8:00 a.m. local time to hawk what little launch-day inventory they manage to obtain, Walmart stores across the country will begin selling new iPads eight hours earlier at 12:01 a.m. Stock is likely to be extremely limited if history has taught us anything, but heading over to your local Walmart at midnight is definitely better than the alternative. In an email to BGR, Walmart only mentioned having stock of Apple’s Wi-Fi-only iPad models, which start at $499.
UPDATE: Walmart responded to our request for clarification, but wouldn’t state whether or not the retailer will carry iPad Wi-Fi + 4G inventory at launch. “Specific model availability varies by store,” Walmart spokeswoman Sarah Spencer told BGR via email. “There will be limited quantities available per store.”
