Costco dropping iPod over iPad snub?

Membership club Costco, the third-largest retailer in the U.S., is preparing to cease carrying iPods, according to an iLounge source who asked not to be identified. Based on the report, which notes that iPods have already disappeared from the company’s web site, Costco will stop carrying the iPod after being unable to stock the iPad, which has just been offered to or become available at competing retailers including Target, Walmart, and, soon, Sam’s Club. In checks with several Costco stores, iLounge found ample supplies of recently-released fourth-generation iPod touch units; our source suggests the company is simply getting rid of left-over stock. Costco has been known to drop popular products over past disagreements; in 2009, it stopped carrying Coca-Cola products over a wholesale pricing disagreement with the Atlanta, GA-based soft drink maker.