While Lowes may not be everyones focal point in life (or the hobbies associated with it), having a major tech event such as Lowes pushing out an army of 40,000+ iPhones (and a few iPads to boot) is pretty notable. We wrote about Lowes’ iPhone/iPad ambitions back in early September and thanks to a tipster we have a bit more info.
Building on the 42,000+ POS-equipped iPhones, we’re now hearing that the new-fangled in-store tech is rolling out in a staggered release. The in-store iPhones are already mostly deployed around the country, though included voice support will come midway through 2012. What’s unique about these phones is that they run a custom firmware that combined with the ad-hoc Lowes app make for a rather robust business tool. On top of that, the company phones all feature a special folder with bookmarked web pages of competitors’ websites for price matching purposes. The phones are reputedly AT&T-only (for now).
Other interesting tidbits we were able to glean: mobile check-out stations should begin rolling out around this time next year as will iPad kiosks that will reportedly debut around the same time — mid-2012.
We’re still fishing for more info (and screenshots). Check back soon.
Update
Rumored enclosures the iPad kiosks will use –> iPadEnclosures.com.
