Hackers have been at it again this week. We mentioned earlier this morning that the Washington Post was attacked by hackers that gained access to the paper's servers. Target has also been the victim of a cyber attack in recent weeks. Reports indicate that Target is currently investigating a data breach that involves customer credit card data.
Target giveth and Microsoft taketh away: the lucky gamers who received an early Xbox One after a retailer goof have found their Xbox Live accounts blocked on the console, as Microsoft clamps down on premature access. Target inadvertently shipped a number of Xbox One preorders ahead of schedule last week, but while gamers original found they could download the day-one update and connect as expected, they later found that their online access through Xbox Live had been cut off.
The original iPad is getting rather long in the tooth these days having been on the market for three years. The first-generation iPad has been around long enough that most trade-in programs giving owners money to apply towards a newer tablet or other device offer very little cash for the first-generation iPad. Presumably, this is because there is very little value in the original iPad to be had for resellers.
Due to a delay in production of two key game titles, Target is canceling all PlayStation 4 bundle preorders. The cancellation is prompted by the lack of availability of Watch Dogs and Driveclub. Both of those titles were supposed to be ready by fall 2013, but their releases are being pushed into next year.
Target will be rolling out a prepaid mobile phone option in conjunction with T-Mobile called Brightspot, giving customers access to contract-free plan options with their own handset or a new one. The service will go live on October 6, but Target has detailed its service ahead of time, though specifics on the plans haven't been provided yet.
We mentioned this morning that RadioShack and Target were going their separate ways with regards to their mobile service operation as of April 8. The two retailers were unable to come to an agreement to continue operating their mobile services partnership moving forward. The reason given for the dissolution of the partnership between the two companies was financial.
Though you may have a heart attack when you hear that Target will be the only place you can get the exclusive big of in-game content they include with the package, you'll be a little less freaked out to hear that it's a Target-themed race car. If you're a real lover of Target superstore, you will want to head out either to a physical location or to the web - Target's website, that is - to get this exclusive: a lovely Red Target racing suit and race car for in-game action. Otherwise you can just pick the game up wherever you like - no worries!
Amazon's impressive new Kindle Paperwhite is set to launch in just a couple of days, but Barnes and Noble has decided that its going to put up a fight. Both Target and Walmart are showing that the price of the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight has been cut just ahead of the Paperwhite's launch. The new price of the Nook GlowLight? $119, the same price that Amazon has given the basic Paperwhite model.
The official Google Play store for digital media such as apps, music, and books, has been given a collection of real-life gift cards. This set of gift cards appears in $10, $25, and $50 denominations, and is able to be used on digital media only - no hardware or accessory purchases here! These gift cards will be available immediately if not soon at RadioShack, Target, and GameStop.
If you head to a Target store anytime between now and somewhere around the end of October, you're going to have a tough time finding yourself a tablet that isn't also an iPad. SlashGear has learned from several tipsters (including two Target employees) that they'll not be carrying any tablet computers, other than the iPad, until late in the year, much closer to the year-end holiday season. This of course includes the ill-fated Kindle Fire which you'll no longer find online and is being blown-out on the end-caps at Target stores nationwide.
Despite the method Apple used for massive iPhone sales at the launch of the iPhone 4S this past year, it appears now that the iPhone 4 will be exiting the show before the iPhone 5 hits shelves later this year. Several companies including Target and RadioShack have initiated a $49.99 sale price for the iPhone 4 with Best Buy joining this party just this week. Searches across several online sources (including Best Buy online) have yielded shows of low or no stock on the phone, this very possibly pointing toward the stock change that will certainly occur once the next-generation iPhone 5 hits shelves.
This morning it's been announced that Apple will not only be selling the new iPad from their own retail locations, they'll be working with a series of 3rd party stores as well - this likely spreading the stock thin for everyone involved. This iPad release will have Apple joined by Best Buy, RadioShack, Sam's Club, Target, and Walmart, not to mention the two big mobile carriers giving this iPad its first dose of 4G LTE: AT&T and Verizon. Like last year's release of the iPad 2, customers should expect lines to be long and stock to be short - people are already lined up waiting for the Friday 8AM release, believe it or not!