Say it ain't so, Steve

Apple will soon be selling its industry leading, flagship product at Wal-Mart? Yes, we know times are tight, but what does this do to the cachet? To the experience? To the brand? It’s not as though there are any Geniuses working at Commodity Central. The only good news is that it’s going to be $197 and not $99 as speculated on Saturday.

But why not Target (pronounced tahr-jey)? While (like Wal-Mart) they have high volume and ruthless cost-cutting, they have a more upscale clientele and image. Yes they have only 1500 US stores vs. 3800 in Wal-Mart (I suspect the deal is US only), but they are already selling the iPod Touch.

There is the old joke about haggling over the price. Now we know Steve’s price. Perhaps this suggests even more strongly that he’s a short-timer, since the short-term gains may be outweighed by the long term brand erosion.