NEW YORK — A move by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to offer more and lower-priced laptops could give it an edge over key rival Best Buy Co. in the struggle for back-to-school electronics business.
The world’s largest retailer announced Thursday it was increasing its assortment of affordable laptop computers — some in limited supply — with the aim of becoming a computer destination for college and high school students.
A key offering to be available starting Sunday is a $298 notebook from Hewlett-Packard Co. with 3 gigabytes of memory and a 160-giga byte hard drive. The price tag is more typical of smaller, less powerful laptops known as netbooks.
Justin Barber, spokesman for Minneapolis-based Best Buy, noted that Best Buy carries more than 45 PCs and Apple computer models, and its notebook prices start at $330 and netbooks at $250.
