MacRumors

As noted by Italian site Macitynet.it [Google translation], promotional materials for OS X Lion have begun appearing in third-party retail stores, with a location of retail store chain Euronics displaying a large free-standing banner as well as smaller table-top signage highlighting the new multi-touch gesture support found in OS X Lion.

The new signage advertises OS X Lion as being "now on all new Macs" and encourages users to "take a tour" of the new operating system. The machines on display have not, however, been updated to Lion yet.

Meanwhile, other signage promoting the sale of standard App Store gift cards to cover the purchase of OS X Lion has also popped up in at least one store of Dutch retail chain Dixons. Gift cards not only allow customers to effectively purchase OS X Lion for others, but also provide those without a credit card with a means to purchase content from the Mac App Store and Apple's other digital stores.

Numerous sources have indicated that Apple's retail stores are planning "overnights" tonight in which staff will change out promotional materials and update other aspects of the store layouts. Tonight's activities are presumably related in large part to OS X Lion, as the stores have reportedly received hard drives containing the new operating system. Other reports have claimed that Apple will indeed be releasing OS X Lion and new MacBook Air models tomorrow.

Update: The Macitynet.it report has been pulled by request. We have also received word that the Euronics location has removed its prematurely-posted Lion signage.

In association with the opening of Apple's new Penrith store outside of Sydney, Australia this weekend, Current.com.au reports (via The Next Web) that Apple press representatives have apparently noted that the company is planning to open a remarkable 33 stores over the next two months. With the retail push, Apple will move from its current total of 330 locations to 363 stores by the end of fiscal 2011 in late September, a pace that works out to nearly one opening every two days. According to the Apple spokesperson:

"Our retail offering continues to [grow], with Penrith the 11th store in Australia, since we opened Apple Store Sydney just three years ago. Globally we are planning to have 363 stores in fiscal 2011.”

The report also notes that Apple's retail stores have now seen over one billion visitors pass through their doors.

"Apple Retail has been in business for 10 years. During this period, we have had over 1 billion visitors through our doors, many of whom are new to the Mac, as the Apple Store is the best place to learn about all the latest products from Apple," said the spokesperson.

That milestone was actually passed earlier this year, as Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer noted during the company's April 20th earnings conference call that Apple's retail stores would greet their billionth visitor within the following few days.

Apple appears to be setting up the final pieces for OS X Lion's launch this week. A previous report even pinpointed the release as early as Wednesday morning.

We've now been able to confirm that Apple Retail stores have begun receiving final copies of OS X Lion today. The installations have come on hard drive and are meant for the Apple Retail demo computers on the store floor. This, of course, doesn't guarantee a specific launch date, but brings Apple one step closer to launch.

Apple has said that OS X Lion will be launching in July but has not publicly committed to a launch date. Apple seeded the Golden Master version of OS X Lion to developers on July 1st. The Golden Master version is typically the final shipping version of the operating system. Apple is also widely expected to refresh the MacBook Air and Mac Mini computers around the same time as Lion's launch.

AppleInsider reports that this Wednesday may finally be the day that OS X Lion and new MacBook Air models finally begin shipping as consumers have been anxiously awaiting the releases.

According to people with proven track records who would be in a position to know, the new product launches are set to occur later this week. Specifically, one person said the products would be released on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.

Circulating rumors have claimed that the updated MacBook Air models will sport a minimum of 128 GB solid state drives and 4 GB of RAM, and will also see the return of a backlit keyboard.

Apple has been reported to be holding new hardware launches until OS X Lion is ready so that it can ship the machines with the latest operating system pre-installed. A number of other new hardware updates are said to be pending, including a Mac mini refresh and an updated LED Cinema Display. New Mac Pro models have also been rumored for release later this month or early next month. All of the new releases are said to support the new Thunderbolt high-speed data connectivity standard.

BGR reports that it has received information from an "incredibly solid source" claiming that Apple will be introducing its next-generation iPhone "by end of the Summer, late August-ish" and taking advantage of the opportunity to expand its iPhone line to three models by selling the new handset alongside the existing iPhone 4 and potentially continuing to offer the iPhone 3GS as a low-cost device available for $349 without a contract.

The source reports that the next-generation iPhone isn't likely to sport a major redesign compared to the iPhone 4, suggesting that case manufacturers should have already leaked the new design if it was in fact different from the iPhone 4. With other sources adamantly reporting in recent weeks that the next-generation iPhone will receive an external redesign, the "will it/won't it" debate remains unsettled.

If this turns out to be true, it will mean there would be an iPhone 4S in addition to the prepaid iPhone 3GS available within the next month to two. Let's do one better, though. In addition to that news, we are told that Apple will continue to sell the current iPhone 4 as well, finally giving the company a full range of devices in the lower, mid, and high-end price segments.

Rumors of Apple releasing a low-cost iPhone carrying an unsubsidized price in the range of $350 have been circulating in recent weeks, with one analyst claiming that Apple will in fact be using the iPhone 3GS to fill that role, slashing its price to free on-contract and $399 without contract. The 8 GB iPhone 3GS currently retails for $449 unsubsidized.

Rumors of Apple bumping the iPad up to a higher-resolution display received a new boost today with The Korea Times reporting that Apple has been working with Samsung and LG on new LCD technology to produce displays with a resolution 2048x1536, double that of the existing iPad in each dimension.

The report notes that Samsung and LG are currently in the testing process for the new displays, which would push the resolution up over 260 pixels per inch, below that of the iPhone 4 and fourth-generation iPod touch, but perhaps high enough for Apple to still consider it a "Retina" resolution given the somewhat further distance at which the iPad is typically viewed.

By limiting the resolution increase to a doubling of the current displays, Apple will provide an easy transition for developers, whose existing content can be displayed via pixel doubling to appear naturally on the higher-resolution display until it can be upgraded to the higher resolution. A similar system was used when the iPhone and iPod touch transitioned to double-resolution displays to minimize disruption to the app ecosystem of the platform.

Apple has started quality testing Samsung and LG's LCDs at one of its laboratories in China. Samsung and LG were required to produce screens with better picture quality and density, according to sources, who anticipate the testing process will be completed during the third quarter.

"Apple's upcoming iPad 3 will feature an improved display to support quad extended graphics (QXGA), a display resolution of 2048×1536 pixels with a 4:3 aspect ratio to provide full high definition (HD) viewing experience," said a source close to the talks.

"Apple has traditionally preferred to use the same providers of the same parts for the same device, even as they evolve to different versions. I don't see any fundamental change to that approach."

With the third quarter of the year already underway, quality testing on the new displays could be completed at any time if the report is correct, paving the way for either a rumored "iPad 2 Pro" to be sold alongside existing iPad 2 models or a full-fledged iPad 3, both of which have been the subject of rumors for a release later this year.

Fortune noted earlier today that Apple has finally caught up with iPad 2 demand this weekend with shipping times down to 1-3 business days. This comes over 4 months since the iPad 2 was originally launched in March.

Shortly after its launch, the iPad 2 had 4-5 week delays in availability. Lines were common at many stores for months after the launch. Just last week, Apple had already made steady improvements in availability by dropping ship times down to 3-5 days for the first time since launch.

A judge with the US International Trade Commission ruled today that HTC violated two of Apple's patents in a year-long case filed last March. Apple had accused HTC of violating 20 of its patents, and filed a second complaint this week, claiming infringement of five more patents. HTC has said it will appeal the decision.

When it initially filed the lawsuit, Apple CEO Steve Jobs explained why it was taking legal action:

We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.

If HTC's appeal fails, it will be required to settle with Apple over the patents. However, FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller notes the ITC decision could be very bad for Android, if Apple refuses to settle:

Depending on which two patents HTC infringes and on whether the Commission affirms the ALJ's decision, this could in a worst-case scenario result in a shutdown of many or even all Android-based HTC products in the U.S. market. In a less extreme scenario, HTC might have to remove certain functionality from its products, and that could result in a significant degradation of the user experience and quality of those devices.

Mueller notes that Apple has two ITC complaints and three federal lawsuits currently in motion against HTC, with 16 other patents in question aside from the ones in today's decision.

The United States International Trade Commission is an independent federal agency that, among other things, adjudicates cases involving imports that allegedly infringe intellectual property rights." It has the power, in rare cases, to ban infringing products from the country entirely.

Update: These are the two patents the judge feels are being infringed:

- U.S. Patent No. 5,946,647 on a "system and method causes a computer to detect and perform actions on structures identified in computer data."

- U.S. Patent No. 6,343,263 on a "data transmission system having a real-time data engine for processing isochronous streams of data includes an interface device that provides a physical and logical connection of a computer to any one or more of a variety of different types of data networks."

Both of these patents are at issue in the lawsuits between Apple and Motorola as well.