Apple iPad, HP Ultrabook laptops make Christmas 2012 layaway list at Walmart

Walmart brought back layaway -- paying for a big-ticket item over a series of payments before you can receive it -- last Christmas as the economy still struggled to emerge from recession. The company announced yesterday that it is offering the service to its customers this year again, with some hot computing products on the list of eligible purchases.

On that list, Walmart includes the iPad (though apparently not iPhone, which were also on last year's list) and HP Ultrabook-based laptops. The retailer says it worked with Apple and HP to make sure that it has enough products available to meet demand. Walmart has also tweaked the details of its layaway program for Christmas 2012.

The open fee -- which is kept if you ultimately can't pay for the item or refunded as a Walmart gift card when the item is fully paid off -- has been increased from $5 to $15. However, the number of days you can pay for an item has increased from 60 to 90 days.

Walmart layaway begins on September 16, though customers liking the company on Facebook after August 28 can start layaways on September 14. The tactic proved so successful last year that the company had trailers outside many locations housing layaway items that were being paid off. This year, expect many of those trailers to once again be stacked full of iPads.

Source from: zdnet.com