RadioShack will begin selling certain Verizon Wireless handsets in some of its stores beginning today, according to the blog Boy Genius Report.
The report shows screenshots of RadioShack's billing system with prices for handsets such as Research In Motion's BlackBerry Storm, LG's Dare and enV2 and the Samsung Knack. The report said the handsets would not be sold at all RadioShack stores, at least initially.
The rumor first appeared earlier this week on the website phonenews.com. RadioShack and Verizon ended their relationship in the summer of 2005 and RadioShack revamped its wireless retail business. The company has continued to sell phones through AT&T Mobility and Sprint Nextel. The move would make sense in the wake of the liquidation of Circuit City (and the elimination of Verizon jobs at Circuit City stores), and as RadioShack looks to increase its mobile retail market share. RadioShack has recently been revamping its displays to compete directly with Best Buy and has opened three stores in the Dallas area that are focused on selling mobile devices, taking a page from Best Buy's free-standing mobile stores.
When contacted earlier this week, a Verizon spokeswoman declined to comment on the development.
For more:
- see this post
- see this video of RadioShack's new stores
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