Wal-Mart giving away $100 gift card with BlackBerry purchases

Wal-Mart is trying to raise its profile as a mobile retailer by offering a $100 gift card to customers who buy select BlackBerry devices from Research In Motion.

The offer, which runs from Nov. 14 to Nov. 20, will be effective when a customer buys a BlackBerry device and activates a two-year contract with any of the Tier 1 operators. The offer applies to different BlackBerry models, including the Bold 9000 from AT&T Mobility, and the Storm and Storm2 from Verizon Wireless. Customers can use the gift card on the same day of their purchase or save it for use at a later date.

The new offer is the latest in a series of moves by Wal-Mart to position itself as a premiere wireless retailer, alongside Best Buy and RadioShack. Last month, Wal-Mart became a national retail partner with TracFone, and started selling the company's Straight Talk monthly unlimited plan. Wal-Mart currently has around 3,200 stores nationwide where it sells and activates postpaid wireless service. 

For more:
- see this release [1]

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