If the sight of remaining Blockbuster stores shocks you, brace yourself for another surprise: they could soon be selling smartphones alongside your 80s comedies. Dish Networks may have dashed its dreams of turning Blockbuster into a Netflix competitor, but according to a pair of Bloomberg sources, the firm will be pushing the veteran video rental chain into the smartphone retail arena. Blockbuster has already been peddling handsets online, but it's said the sales will be extending to the chain's roughly 850 remaining brick-and-mortar locations. According to the outlet, Dish CEO Charlie Ergen has planned on charging Blockbuster with smartphone sales since picking the company up last year. Bloomberg also notes that the move could signal Dish Network's entry into offering mobile phone service, a la AT&T and Verizon -- it's sure gaining the spectrum to do so. Sure, the move might take the video store in an odd direction, but its not as if you won't be able to watch movies on your Blockbuster-bought smartphone.
[Image Credit: Josh Smith, Flickr]
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Bloomberg