Best Buy employees to receive iPad 2s?

According to a report at Forbes, the big-box electronic store Best Buy may be ramping up a major iPad 2 program — giving each employee a tablet for use. As part as the company’s  “Connected World”  plan, such a move would be a big boost to the visibility of Apple’s product in a relatively non-Apple environment like Best Buy:

A source with knowledge of corporate mobile device deployments tells Forbes that one of the country’s top 10 largest retailers expects to distribute iPads to each of its on-floor sales associates. This retailer, the source adds, operates 1,100 stores across the U.S. As the country’s largest electronics retailer — as well as a retailer that currently operates around 1,100 stores in the U.S. — Best Buy is a natural match.

Giving each employee an iPad 2 for personal use seems a little crazy to me. However, at the original iPhone launch, all full-time employees at Apple retail were given handsets as gifts.

While the Forbes report doesn’t discuss EasyPay, Apple’s iOS-based POS solution, it has been showing up at several retail chains. Coupling an employee gift with something like this makes a lot of sense to me.

Several years ago, Best Buy and Apple partnered to create “mini-stores” within many Best Buy locations. These areas are themed like an Apple Store and are staffed with Apple-trained employees.

Article Via Mac Rumors

Stephen Hackett, formerly a Lead Mac Genius at Apple, now spends his days running the IT department of a large non-profit in Memphis, TN. He writes about Apple, design and journalism at forkbombr.net. Like all twenty-somethings, you can find him on Twitter. Oh, and he has a dogcow tattoo.